Millions of poor not yet under food safety net, House panel told

GOVT HAS TOLD A PARLIAMENTARY PANEL THAT IT CANNOT ADD MORE BENEFICIARIES TO PDS LIST UNTIL THE NEXT CENSUS

- Zia Haq

NEW DELHI: The government has told a parliamentary standing committee that it cannot add more beneficiaries to the list of recipients of free monthly food handouts until the next census, despite an increase in population, which implies that many poverty-stricken households remain outside the welfare net.

Answering queries of the standing committee on food and public distribution, the food ministry said about 7.9 million people are still left to be covered under the public distribution system or PDS for various reasons despite being eligible, based on population figures from the 2011 census.