Food Supply and Camp Welfare Minister Krishnachandra Patra revealed that ration card beneficiaries will now receive both rice and wheat. Starting this month, each beneficiary will get 4 kg of rice and 1 kg of wheat per month.
Minister Pote explained that this decision addresses the increased demand for wheat among the population. Under the new arrangement, beneficiaries will receive 20 percent of their rice allocation as wheat. This change comes after the previous government had discontinued the distribution of wheat, providing only rice to ration card holders. The supply of wheat had been halted after the Center requested additional rice.
The last BJG government had stopped distributing wheat to beneficiaries under the general distribution system from 2020-21, due to an inability to meet the wheat quota. Consequently, the BJG government decided to provide only rice to beneficiaries. The current administration has since engaged with the Union Minister to reinstate the distribution of both rice and wheat.