New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Monday passed the National Food Security Bill, rejecting all the 305 amendments moved by the opposition and adopting the 11 introduced by the government, said government sources Tuesday.
The bill aims to provide subsidised foodgrain at prices much below the market rate to around 67 percent of India's 1.2 billion people.
The bill would thus benefit about 800 million people who would get rice at Rs.3 per kilo, wheat at Rs.2 per kilo and coarse grain at Re.1 per kilo.
The states have been allowed to identify the beneficiaries and the centre will bear the cost of transporting the grain, said the sources.
But there are four major changes in the bill after it was passed by the lower house late Monday night.
The current grain allocations of 18 out of 35 states which were to get less grains will be protected at the prices applicable for the above poverty line beneficiaries.
