New Delhi:
The Rajya Sabha has passed the Food Security Bill, which seeks to provide highly subsidised foodgrains to the country's two-third population as a right.
The ambitious bill, championed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and seen as a "game-changer" by the Congress, was approved by the Rajya Sabha through voice vote.
All the amendments moved by the opposition to the bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on August 26, were rejected. Some amendments, like the one moved by Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agrawal, were withdrawn while some members including BJP's Venkaiah Naidu and Prakash Javadekar did not press some of their amendments.
The bill was passed after a day-long debate during which the Opposition attacked the government, saying the measure was just repackaging of some existing schemes and a "gimmick" with an eye on elections.
"Food Bill passed unanimously... Process of consultation with states has started," Food Minister KV Thomas told NDTV.
The bill now needs just one more step - Presidential assent - to become a historic law.
The landmark bill aims at providing rice at Rs. 3 per kg, wheat at Rs. 2 per kg and coarse cereal at Re 1 per kg to almost 800 million Indians, is expected to cost the national exchequer Rs. 1.25 lakh crore, making it the largest food security programme will be the largest in the world. It would require 62 million tonnes of foodgrains.
Questions have been raised about whether India's fragile economy can bear the cost at this time.