Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on June 24, would replace the existing system of providing 35 kg of free food grains per AAY family every month with a per-person entitlement of 7 kg, subject to a maximum of 35 kg for each household.

They said that while a single-member family would receive 7 kg, a two-member family would get 14 kg and a four-member family 28 kg. Families with more than five members would continue to receive only 35 kg, while households with fewer than five members would see a reduction in their monthly allocation compared with the present system.

Shanmugam contended that the proposed amendment could substantially reduce the quantity of food grains allocated to states under the AAY scheme. He warned that the changes would adversely affect the poorest and most vulnerable sections, particularly families dependent on the public distribution system for their food security.

Tamil Nadu has around 18.64 lakh AAY ration cards covering nearly 69 to 70 lakh beneficiaries, all of whom would be affected if the amendment is implemented. Veerapandian said the monthly allocation of rice, wheat and millets supplied free by the Union government to Tamil Nadu could decline from 65,261 metric tonnes to 42,040 metric tonnes.

He also backed Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's reported appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking reconsideration of the proposed amendment, and urged the Union government to accept the request.