The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a landmark reform to improve the quality of rice supplied under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and Other Welfare Schemes, marking the first revision in quality specifications in nearly three decades.

Quality Improvements

Under the approved policy, raw rice supplied under PMGKAY will now contain up to 10% broken grains, significantly reduced from the existing specification of up to 25%. Parboiled rice will contain up to 5% broken grains, down from the existing specification of up to 16%. This ensures that over 80 crore beneficiaries receive rice with better grain integrity, improved appearance, and higher consumer acceptability without any change in their entitlement quantities.

Implementation Timeline

Procurement of the improved-quality rice will commence immediately and will be rolled out across all procuring States by the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2027–28 in a phased manner. Distribution under PMGKAY and Other Welfare Schemes will also transition gradually to ensure smooth implementation across all States. The proposal has been validated through pilot implementations in multiple States including Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh, demonstrating operational feasibility at scale.

Operational and Fiscal Benefits

The reform enables productive utilization of broken rice generated during milling, which will be separated and utilized for other purposes while ensuring superior edible rice reaches beneficiaries. This is expected to rationalize transportation, storage, and handling costs as broken rice will be auctioned directly from millers' premises. Jute bag requirements will reduce, with broken rice being stored in HDPE bags instead. These measures are projected to generate annual cost rationalization of ₹2,161 crore through reduced logistics, storage, and packaging costs, with additional revenue from broken rice sales further reducing the food subsidy burden.

Transparency Enhancements

The reform introduces QR-code tagging of rice bags to enable end-to-end traceability across the supply chain, strengthening transparency, accountability, and inventory management in the Public Distribution System. This measure is designed to effectively plug any scope for leakages and ensure better governance of food distribution.