Union Government extended the deadline for implementing NFSA by three months

Union Government on 26 June 2014 extended the deadline for implementing National Food Security Act by three more months. Food Security Act seeks to provide the right to highly subsidised foodgrain to nearly two-third of the population

The decision to extend the deadline was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss issues related to inflation and the monsoon.

The decision came on the back of 25 states and Union territories failing to implement the NFSA that had come into effect on 5 July 2013, with the states given one year to implement it. That is the deadline for implementing the Act was to expire on 5 July 2014.

So far, the Act has been completely rolled out in five States and partially in six States out of 29 States.

States where the Act has been fully implemented are
• Haryana
• Rajasthan
• Maharashtra
• Punjab
• Chattisgarh

States where the Act has been partially implementation include
• Delhi
• Himachal Pradesh
• Karnataka
• Madhya Pradesh
• Bihar
• Chandigarh

More than 19 states and union territories are yet to implement the provisions of the Act.

The effective implementation of the Act that seeks to provide the right to highly subsidised food grain to nearly two-third of the population will protect the poor from increased market prices of the food articles. The Food Security Act was passed during the UPA government. The Act entitles people to get at least 5 kilograms of food grain namely rice, wheat and coarse cereals per month at a highly subsidised prices of 3 rupees, 2 rupees and 1 rupees respectively.