The Union Parliament enacted the National Food Security Act in 2013 to provide the right to Food Security to means that “every person gets nutritious food for remaining active and living healthy life”.

The objectives of the National Food Security Act are as follows:

1. To satisfy the food requirement of the increasing population of the country by ensuring adequate quality and quantity of the food and to supply the same at a concessional rate.
2. To curb malnutrition by giving encouragement to increase the production of the nutritious food.
3. To provide food security to the Antyodaya and the BPL families.
4. To provide food nutritious food the pregnant and feeding women.
5. To make the Public Distribution System (PDS) efficient, transparent and simple.

The provisions of the Act are as follows:

1. To provide food grains to the needy and poor families in the urban and the rural areas at a concessional rate.
2. These families will be provided food grains and subsidized price as under:
   • Rice 3 ₹ per kg.
   • Wheat 2 rupees per kg
   • Coarse grains 1₹ rupee per kg.
3. They will be also supplied sugar, iodized salt, kerosene and edible oil at a subsidized rate.
4. These food grains will be supplied in fixed quantity of 5 kg per person per month.
5. The government would pay an allowance of ₹ 6000 to pregnant women.
6. Food security allowance will be paid to beneficiary in case they decide not to purchase food grains.
7. 35 kg food grains per month will be supplied free to the Antoyodaya and the BPL families.
8. The state government will prepare the list of those families which will receive the benefits on priority. The same will be updated and displayed in public places and website.
9. Biometric identity cards will be issued to the beneficiaries along with ration card.
10. A mechanism to deal with the complaints will be set up by the state government, Nodal Officers will deal with the complaints.
11. The State Food Commission will be set up and Food Commissioner will be appointed to implement the scheme.