Food subsidy bill set to cross BE by ₹22,000 crore

EXPENDITURE SEEN 11% HIGHER THAN BUDGET ESTIMATE

- SANDIP DAS

THE UNION GOVERNMENT'S food subsidy budget for FY26 is set to exceed the budget estimates (BE) of ₹2.03 lakh crore by over ₹22,000 crore due to the rising cost of holding surplus grains far in excess of what is needed for minimum support price (MSP) operations for paddy and wheat.

Sources said that FCI, through which over 70% subsidies are routed, has revised upward its projected expenditure from ₹1.43 lakh crore (BE) to ₹1.72 lakh crore for 2025-26 mainly because of surplus rice stocks which far exceeds the buffer.

The rest of the food subsidy is routed through those states who have opted for a decentralized procurement system.