The government has said today that there is no proposal to increase the issue prices of wheat and rice for Above Poverty Line, APL and Below Poverty Line, BPL categories under the Targeted Public Distribution System. In a written reply Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Prof. K.V. Thomas said in Rajya Sabha that the rise in food subsidy is mainly attributable to increase in economic cost of foodgrains on account of increase in Minimum Support Price ever year where as Central Issue Prices of subsidized foodgrains have remained unchanged since 2002.

He said the administrative expenses of Food Corporation of India were only 3.54 per cent of total food subsidy in 2008-09 which has further reduced to 1.95 per cent of total food subsidy in 2011-12.