Payment of cash in lieu of the additional 5 kg of rice to beneficiaries under the Anna Bhagya scheme will begin from Monday. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will launch the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme. Last week, the Chief Minister said that this month’s amount will be deposited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries shortly.
Faced with procurement challenges, the State government announced that cash will be paid to beneficiaries at the rate of ₹34 a kg for the additional 5 kg of rice under the free rice scheme. This is applicable to every member of BPL and Antyodaya households for up to five members.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa said there are 1,28,16,253 ration cardholders eligible for benefits under Anna Bhagya and Antyodaya schemes. Nearly 99% of these cards are seeded with Aadhar number and 82% (1.06 crore) of these cards are linked with active bank accounts. The cash transfer will start for these cards. The remaining ration cardsholders will be intimated to open new accounts,” he said.
