Free fine rice distribution spurs addition of 11 lakh new beneficiaries in just one month
Hyderabad: The number of ration card beneficiaries in Telangana has surged to a record 2.93 crore, owing to the overwhelming response to the state government’s ‘Sanna Biyyam’ scheme, launched on March 30 and rolled out from April 1.
According to data obtained from the civil supplies department, more than 10.12 lakh individuals were added to existing ration cards in April alone, making them eligible for the scheme from this month (May). Additionally, the issuance of 31,084 new ration cards has brought another 93,584 people under the public distribution system, leading to a net increase of 11.05 lakh new beneficiaries across the state.
Under the ‘Sanna Biyyam’ scheme, the Congress government is distributing fine-quality rice free of cost to all ration card holders. This replaced the earlier supply of coarse rice (doddu biyyam), which had limited consumption due to poor quality. The move has drawn large crowds to ration shops, with fine rice retailing at Rs 50–60 per kg in the open market.
Before the scheme’s rollout, Telangana had 91,19,268 ration cards covering 2,82,77,859 beneficiaries in March. In April after the scheme's launch, the number of ration cards slightly dipped to 90,42,916, but the number of beneficiaries rose to 2,85,97,912 due to new additions on existing cards. By May, ration cards had increased to 90,71,987, with total beneficiaries reaching 2,93,56,296.
To cater to the growing demand, the government has scaled up the monthly rice quota. From 1.80 lakh tonnes in March, the supply rose to 1.81 lakh tonnes in April, and further to 1.86 lakh tonnes in May.
