Sat Mar 29 06:13:23 UTC 2025: ## Telangana Launches Massive Free Rice Scheme for 85% of Population

**Hyderabad, March 29, 2025** – The Telangana Congress government announced a landmark food security initiative on Friday, promising free distribution of fine rice to over 85% of the state’s population. Starting April 1st, coinciding with the Ugadi festival, all ration card holders will receive 6 kg of fine rice per month.

Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will officially launch the scheme at a public meeting in Huzurnagar on March 30th. The program aims to benefit approximately 3.1 crore people, making it the largest such initiative in India, according to the Minister.

Mr. Reddy highlighted the shortcomings of the previous system, which distributed coarse rice. He claimed that due to poor quality, a significant portion (80-90%) of the rice was diverted to the black market, resulting in an estimated annual loss of ₹7,000 crore to ₹8,000 crore. The Congress government, he said, has addressed this by significantly expanding the number of ration cards issued, adding nearly 30 lakh new cards to the existing 90 lakh. This expansion ensures that no eligible household is left without access to the program. The minister attributed the previous administration’s inaction to the slow addition of only 49,479 new cards over ten years.

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