More food grains for India's poor

New Delhi, Aug 17 (ANI): Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said the proposed National Food Security Bill to ensure certain quantity of food grains to below poverty line families is under the consideration of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM).

"The requirement of food grains and the amount that the government will have to spend for the implementation of the proposed law will depend on several factors. These include central issue prices, economic cost and the number of beneficiaries," said Pawar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

"No proposal has been received for implementing this law in a phased manner on the pattern of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme," he added.

Pawar further said considering the estimation of poverty, an expert group set up by the Planning Commission to examine the methodology for the purpose, has submitted its report and the process of finalizing the methodologies for the identification of the rural poor is being finalized.

"As far as the urban poor is concerned, the report by a group, set up by the Planning Commission, is awaited," he said. (ANI)