The Ministry of Rural Development announced that it will allocate lesser amount of food grain for Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), a food-for-work program, to laborers from 5 kilograms to 3 kilograms because of “limited availability.” The Government will however release the entire available quantity of 1.7 million tons (mt) along with the cash component.

Announcing the decision, Minister of Rural Development Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, also said that no further quantity of food grains will be released as part of second installment in the current year. Singh said that if food grain is not available, then the states have been instructed to pay in cash.

It is not clear if the Government plans to compensate laborers for the lesser quantity of food grain given for a day’s work