Parliament Question: Trend in food subsidy expenditure

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2748 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17Trl MARCH, 2026 TREND IN FOOD SUBSIDY EXPENDITURE 2748 # SHRI PRADIP KUMAR VARMA:

Will the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution be pleased to state

(a): the total expenditure incurred on food subsidy during the last three financial years;

(b): the number of beneficiaries under NFS A, category-wise;

(C): the extent of coverage of DBT and digital distribution systems; and

(d): the estimated food subsidy allocation for the upcoming financial year? ANSWER M[NISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRIMATI NIMUBEN JAYANTIBHAI BAMBHANIYA)

(a): The total food subsidy released by Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from FY 2022-23 to till date (as on 12.03.2026) is as under:

FY Amount (in Rs. Crore) 2022-23 272501.69 2023 -24 211394.39 2024-25 199499.67 2025-26 192535.13 as on 12.03.2026

(b): A statement containing category-wise and state-wise number of beneficiaries under NFSA is attached at Annexure I.

(c): PMGKAY is being implemented in Direct Cash Transfer mode in the UTs of Chandigarh, Puducherry and part of Dadra & Nagar Haveli as per the provisions of Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rule, 2015. DFPD has launched a pilot project on the use of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the State of Gujarat on 15.02.2026. It has also launched a pilot project on use of CBDC for Direct Benefit Transfer

(DBT) under the PMGKAY in Puduchemy Dn 26.02.2026. The CBDC shall offer a secure, instant, traceable, and programmable digital cash mechanism for PMGKAY beneficiaries,enabling smoother fund flow and reducing friction in availing entitlements. The benefits of use of CBDC, inter alia, include empowerment to beneficiaries availing entitled foodgrains;

convenience of wallet-based payments reducing cash handling & leakage.

As part of the Government’s digital initiatives to enhance reach, effectiveness under PMGKAY and PDS, the ration card/beneficiary database has been 100'Y, digitised across all States and Union Territories, with 99 .IQ/, ration cards Aadhaar-seeded and 99.2% beneficiaries aadhaar seeded. This has enabled beneficiaries to access their full entitlements at Fair Price Shops through e-PoS devices using their Ration Card Number or Aadhaar Number, with biometric -authentication. Further, initiatives such as One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), Mera Ration App and Anna Sahayata have expanded the reach of food security benefits, particularly to migrant and mobile populations, thereby improving the effectiveness of PN4GKAY and PDS.

(d): The allocation made by Ministry of Finance (MoF) for Food subsidy under PMGKAY as per Budget Estimates (BE) of FY 2026-27 is Rs. 2,27,429 Crores.

88#88Annexure I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2748 FOR ANSWER ON 17.03.2026 IN THE RAJYA SABHA S.No. 1S tate Name Beneficia Count (no. of }ersons AAY PHH Total 1 ANDAMAN AND NICOB AR ISLANDS 11 ,460 49,874 61 ,334 9 ANDHRA PRADESH 2,262,735 24,557,3 1 1 26,820,046 3 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 158,173 7 1 2,827 871 ,000 4 ASSAM 2,150, 112 22,744,682 24,894,794 5 BIHAR 8,285,856 IG,Sql ,llb 84,863,63 1 6 CHANDIGARH 909 342,045 342,954 7 CHHATTISGARH 1 ,863,494 18,110, 189 J 9,973,683 8 DADAR & NAGAR HAVELI & DAMAN & DIU 20,720 242,655 263,375 9 DELHI 267,596 6,952,754 7,220,350 10 GOA 38,845 437,458 476,303 GUJARAT 11 3 , 194,939 30,495,464 33,690,403 12 HARYANA 814, 199 11,834,801 12,649,000 13 HINIACHAL PRADESH 636, 101 2,2 1 8,560 2,854,661 14 JAMMU AND KASHMIR 879,506 5,867,666 6,747, 172 15 JHARKHAND 3,370,486 22,920,643 26,291 , 1 29 16 KARNATAKA J,291 ,855 35,901 ,388 40, 1 93 ,243 17 KERALA 13,207,569 15,065,170 1 ,857,60 1 18 LADAKH 19,011 94,792 113,803 19 LAKSHADWEEP 4,044 16,05 1 20,095 20 MADHYA PRaDESH 4,740,698 49,066,439 53,807, 137 21 MAHARASHTRA 9,838,956 58,303,381 68, 142,337 22 MANIPUR 1 86,879 1 ,923 ,499 2, 110,378 23 MEGHALAYA 289,823 1 ,847,032 2,136,855 24 M IZORAM 63, 176 642,824 706,000 25 NAGALAND 130,642 1 ,004,928 1,135,570 26 ODISHA 3,430,666 28,948,298 32,378,964 27 PUDUCHERRY 77,275 556,725 634,000 28 PUNJAB 323,3 14 13,827,686 14, 1 5 1 ,000 29 RAJASTHAN 1 ,920,354 42,059,930 43,980,284 30 SII(KIM 57,794 3 1 8,786 376,580 31 TAMIL NADU 6,40 1 ,469 30,068,53 1 36,470,000 32 TELANGANA 1,567,671 17,512,350 19,080,02 1 33 TRIPU RA 435,055 1 ,899,809 2,334,864 34 UTTARAKHAN D 669,573 5,353,811 6,023,384 35 UTTAR PkADESH 12,815,334 134,332,094 147, 147,428 36 WEST BENGAL 5,288,45 1 54,687,2 1 5 59,975,666 Total 78,364,772 715,637,842 794,002,614