Centre's Garib Kalyan Scheme and the reality of a burgeoning subsidy bill

While govt would have saved Rs 18,000 cr by distributing 33 mn tonnes of grains that would otherwise have gone waste, its subsidy payout amounts to Rs 45,000 cr

Food grain stocking norms refer to the level of inventory in the Central Pool that is sufficient to meet the operational requirement of food grains and exigencies at any point of time.

These stocks are kept to ensure that if there is shortfall at any point of time in procurement due to whatsoever reason, the smooth functioning of the PDS is not hampered. Earlier this concept was called Buffer Norms and Strategic Reserve. The present Food Corporation of India (FCI) stocking norms were last implemented from 2015.

They consist of Operational stocks meant for meeting monthly distributional requirement under the