NEW DELHI: The central government has decided to distribute free food grains for one year to all those covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that around 80 crore people will get benefit from this. He said the beneficiaries will not be required to pay a single rupee to get the food grains till December 2023.

The government has done away with charging Rs 2 per kg for rice. Piyush Goyal said that the Centre will bear the entire expense of the project. This will cost the government Rs 2 lakh crore annually.

Meanwhile, the government has decided not to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, which ends on December 31.