000 Crore Food Account

In a major fillip to Punjab's persistent efforts for securing the waiver of Rs 31,000 crore food account, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh said the issue could not be brushed under the carpet, and formed a committee to find ways of settling the matter.

Implementing direct benefit transfer (DBT) for food subsidy will help government save Rs 25,000 crore by eliminating costs associated with procurement, distribution and storage of food grains, rating agency Crisil said on Tuesday.

Most analysts say Mr Jaitley should bring down subsidies, which accounted for 2.2 per cent of GDP in 2013-14, to achieve fiscal consolidation. However, there is little scope for the government to reduce the food subsidy given the fact that it has to adhere to the Food Security Act.

In a major fillip to Punjab's persistent efforts for securing the waiver of Rs 31,000 crore food account, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission N K Singh said the issue could not be brushed under the carpet, and formed a committee to find ways of settling the matter.

Implementing direct benefit transfer (DBT) for food subsidy will help government save Rs 25,000 crore by eliminating costs associated with procurement, distribution and storage of food grains, rating agency Crisil said on Tuesday.

Most analysts say Mr Jaitley should bring down subsidies, which accounted for 2.2 per cent of GDP in 2013-14, to achieve fiscal consolidation. However, there is little scope for the government to reduce the food subsidy given the fact that it has to adhere to the Food Security Act.