NEW DELHI – The food ministry has sought Cabinet approval for 47 bln rupees to expand sale of subsidised sugar to all beneficiaries of the national food security plan, as promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, two government officials aware of the development said today.

The proposal is likely to be taken up at the maiden Cabinet meet of the new Narendra Modi government, currently under way, the officials said.

Currently, sugar is sold at a subsidised price of 13.50 rupees a kg only to about 25 mln poorest of the poor families identified under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana.

Under the existing scheme, states buy sugar from the open market, and sell it to beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana at a fixed price. The central government gives a subsidy of maximum 18.50 rupees a kg to states on sale of subsidised sugar to this category. The subsidy given by the central government is inclusive of the expenditure incurred by state governments on procurement and distribution of sugar.

The BJP, in its manifesto, had promised extending the subsidy to more than 800 mln people from poor and lower-middle-income families.