Overview
- The Union Cabinet approved the change Wednesday, reducing allowable broken grain in raw rice from 25% to 10% and in par‑boiled rice from 16% to 5%.
- More than 80 crore beneficiaries will keep their existing entitlements under PMGKAY and the National Food Security Act, with improved rice quality delivered through ration shops.
- Officials have ordered QR‑code traceability across the PDS supply chain and say all distributed rice will be fortified with iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 to help tackle malnutrition and anemia.
- The government expects 8–9 million tonnes of separated broken rice to be diverted to ethanol production and animal feed, and projects about Rs 2,161 crore in annual savings from lower logistics, storage and packaging costs.
- Procurement and distribution will run through the Food Corporation of India under the MSP framework with a phased rollout after pilots in several states, marking the first major rice‑quality standard change in nearly 30 years.