Telangana government has launched Sanna Biyyam Scheme 2025 to ensure free rice distribution to around 84% population of the state. Under this scheme, each member of a BPL family holding a white ration card will get 6 Kg of fine rice instead of coarse rice. Read this article till the end to know what is Telangana Sanna Biyyam Scheme, how to get scheme benefits and other aspects regarding the scheme.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy launched Sanna Biyyam Scheme in Huzurnagar constituency on the occasion of Telugu New Year Ugadi on 30th March 2025 (Sunday). This scheme would ensure food security to approximately 84% population of the state. Civil Supplies Minister claimed that Telangana is the first state in India to introduce such an initiative.
Who are Sanna Biyyam Beneficiaries?
Every member of a below poverty line (BPL) family who possess a white ration card is entitled to get six kilograms of fine rice. There are around 89.73 lakh white ration cards covering 2.8 crore people. With 30 lakh new applications for ration card in Telangana, the total beneficiaries will reach 3.10 crore. CM said 3.10 crore people will be provided free fine-rice through ration shops. The government will be spending Rs. 10,600 crore on this scheme annually.
Need for Telangana Sanna Biyyam Scheme
The government felt the need to distribute fine rice through ration shops as coarse rice was falling into the hands of middlemen. CM claimed that Telangana govt. always strived to provide food security to the poor people. He pointed out that for the first time in the country, ration shops were introduced in 1957 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Moreover, it was Congress leader Sonia Gandhi who brought the Right to Food Act to satiate the hunger of the poor.
The hon’ble CM Revanth Reddy claimed that it was in 1982-83, then Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, proposed to provide rice for Rs. 1.90 per kg, but after the change of government, N. T. Rama Rao launched a Rs. 2 per kg rice scheme. Currently, free coarse rice is being supplied to white ration card holders in Telangana, but they are not consuming it and selling it to rice millers for Rs. 10 per kg. The rice millers are recycling the rice and selling it for Rs. 50 per kg to earn crores. With the improvement in the state’s economy, the Telangana government has decided to provide fine rice.
Politics on Sanna Biyyam Scheme in Telangana
CM slammed the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) as it did not think of introducing the Sanna Biyyam scheme for 10 years. He said the BRS always discouraged farmers from growing paddy, but the Congress government is paying a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal of fine rice. He pointed out that Telangana ranks number 1 in paddy production in the country. Last year, the state produced 1.56 lakh tonne of paddy. So, the state govt. has launched Sanna Biyyam Scheme for poor people.
