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National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013

The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) is a rights-based framework that entitles up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to subsidised food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Covered persons receive 5 kg of food grains per person per month at highly subsidised prices (rice at ₹3/kg, wheat at ₹2/kg, coarse grains at ₹1/kg). The Act covers approximately 81.35 crore (813.5 million) people and places a statutory obligation on the government to procure and distribute adequate stocks.

Key details

NFSA enacted: September 2013; implements the Directive Principle under Article 47 (duty of the state to raise nutrition levels).
Coverage: up to 75% rural + 50% urban = approximately 67% of total population.
Priority Households (PHH): 5 kg/person/month; Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households: 35 kg/family/month.
Free food grains: from January 2023, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was merged with NFSA, providing free (zero-cost) food grains to all NFSA beneficiaries until December 2028.
The Act also includes provisions for nutritional support to pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children (via ICDS and MDM linkages).

In the news

● Tracked since March 07, 2026 · last seen August 15, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

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