India's Food Security Architecture
India's food security framework rests primarily on the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), which gives roughly two-thirds of the population a legal entitlement to subsidised food grain through the Public Distribution System (PDS), supplemented by nutrition-focused schemes.
- NFSA 2013 entitles priority households to 5 kg of food grain per person per month (and Antyodaya households to 35 kg per household per month) at highly subsidised prices, and mandates maternity benefits and nutrition support for children and pregnant/lactating women.
- Since January 2023, foodgrain under NFSA has been provided free of cost under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) framework, extended in phases.
- Complementary nutrition schemes include the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)/Poshan Abhiyaan (targeting child stunting and wasting) and the mid-day meal scheme (PM POSHAN), aimed at both calorie sufficiency and dietary diversity.
- These calorie/staple-focused interventions explain much of the undernourishment decline, but do not directly subsidise the more expensive non-staple food groups (proteins, fruits, vegetables) that drive the "healthy diet" cost.
● Tracked since March 22, 2026 · last seen July 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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