PDS subsidy for 4-member family in TN at a high ₹300

A ration card of a family comprising three to four members receives an average monthly subsidy from the Tamil Nadu government of ₹300 per month through the Public Distribution System (PDS).

- B ANBUSELVAN @Chennai

This amount includes a subsidy of ₹120-₹200 for cooking oil and ₹80 for tur dal, according to the bills being issued at fair price shops from June 2025 after the integration of Point of Sale (POS) machines. This is a significant jump from the initial subsidy of ₹20 each given for oil and dal when the scheme was introduced in 2007.

The initiative to provide detailed bills is a notable step towards transparency, with the government publicly revealing both the actual cost and subsidy provided for each commodity distributed through PDS for the first time. The average cost per kg is ₹8.30 for rice, ₹37.81 for sugar, and ₹27.74 for wheat. While rice and wheat are supplied for free, sugar is supplied at ₹25 per kg.