Updated : Nov 10, 2026If poverty has declined, why does India still provide free food grains to nearly 57% of its population? This is the central question in a compelling conversation on India's welfare economics and food security model. In an exclusive interview with Business Today Group Editor Siddharth Zarabi, Dr Shamika Ravi, Member, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, explains the rationale behind India's free food grain programme and why around 55–56 crore people actually avail of the benefit. She discusses how savings from free grains are changing household consumption patterns, with increased spending on milk, fruits, eggs, fish and meat. The conversation also examines improving nutrition outcomes, India's growing food grain surplus, storage costs, declining cereal consumption and whether the welfare policy needs recalibration as poverty falls.
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