The Finance Minister Sh. P. Chidambaram has set apart an amount of Rs. 10,000 crore, over and above the normal provision for food subsidy, towards the incremental cost that is likely under the National Food Security Act. Presenting the budget of 2013-14 in Lok Sabha today, the Finance Minister hoped that the National Food Security Bill will be passed by Parliament as early as possible as Food Security is as much a basic human right as the right to education or the right to health care.

DSM/AL/NV/23

(Release ID :92715)

Food security: additional budgetary provision proposed to cover incremental costs pending enactment of the National Food Security Act. Additional budgetary provision was proposed to meet incremental costs arising from the prospective National Food Security Act, with the Finance Minister allocating extra resources beyond the routine food subsidy line and urging early parliamentary passage so the funds align with the Act's implementation needs.