Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi, asks him to extend the beneficiaries under NFSA act

Welcoming the Centre's decision of providing 5kg grain to the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to PM Modi asking him to expand the benefit to 10kgs for the next three months.

 "Firstly the provision of 10kg grains per person to NFSA beneficiaries must be extended for an additional period of 3 months till September 2020," read her letter. 

Read: Our Godowns Have Enough Food Grains For Nine Months: Ram Vilas Paswan

Sonia Gandhi added that apart from NFSA beneficences, the same provision should be extended for a period of 6 months to those who do not hold ration cards or are excluded from the NFSA list but face food insecurities. "Secondly 10kg grains per person may be provided free of cost for a period of 6 months to those who may be facing food insecurity but not holding ration cards," she added. 

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'Enough food for 9 months'

Meanwhile,  Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan revealed that the central government has enough grains to feed over 81 crore beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) for nine months. With the government likely to extend the nation-wide lockdown till the month-end, the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution minister said that the transportation and distribution of food grains at an "unprecedented" scale has emerged as a "lifeline" during the crisis, with the poor being assured of their ration supply in time.

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Cases surge past 9000 mark

Coronavirus cases in India have crossed the 9,000 mark, as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. According to the latest update, the number of total cases in the country has climbed to 9,152, while the death toll stands at 308.On Sunday evening, the Indian Council for Medical Research has put out data saying that there had been 1.95 lakh tests conducted till 9 pm that night, of which 8312 people had tested positive, with 15,583 of those tests, or roughly eight percent of the tests being conducted on that Sunday itself. 

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