Guwahati, Jan 31: Over 42 lakh beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have been provided free ration cards by the Assam government in January 2024 under a significant initiative to boost food security.
“January has been a special month for the people of Assam. Over 42 lakh people have secured access to free ration, free healthcare and subsidised cooking gas through extensive ration card distribution programmes across the state,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.
“We envisage ration cards as a laxman rekha that will ensure households do not get trapped by poverty. By 2026, we aim to bring all ration card holders under the Orunodoi scheme,” he said.
“This month, we also achieved near saturation of free ration distribution under our Anna Sewa se Jan Sewa effort. 1.2 lakh metric tonnes of rice reached over 60 lakh people,” the chief minister said.
Notably, the ration distribution programmes undertaken across the state’s districts marked a pivotal moment in the initiatives to ensure all citizens have access to sufficient food.
Apart from food security, the initiative aims to integrate health coverage, as the beneficiaries will receive a health cover of Rs 5 lakh in government hospitals and some designated nursing homes within the state.
Moreover, the income limit for availing a ration card has been raised from Rs 2 lakh per annum to Rs 4 lakh, allowing a larger segment of the population to benefit from the scheme.
Each family member entitled to the new ration card is eligible to receive 5 kilograms of rice every month at no cost. This provision is part of the “anna sewa saptah”, a period during which these benefits are available, and for the month of January, the deadline was set until January 31.
It may be noted that the inclusion of these beneficiaries is expected to extend the reach of the NFSA to an additional 10,73,479 households across Assam.
