Mukhyamantri Nishulk Annapurna Food Packet Yojana

What is Mukhyamantri Nishulk Annapurna Food Packet Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Nishulk Annapurna Food Packet Yojana is a free grocery distribution scheme of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Government of Rajasthan. The scheme, commonly called the Annapurna food packet yojana, was launched on 15 August 2023 and was designed to give every National Food Security Act (NFSA) family in the state one free packet of kitchen essentials every month, collected from the same fair price shop where the family already draws its subsidised wheat.

The idea behind the scheme was straightforward. NFSA already delivers cereal, wheat at Rs 2 per kg, but a household still has to buy dal, oil, sugar and spices at market prices. Rajasthan's Annapurna packet was meant to cover exactly that gap during a period of high food inflation. At launch the state government put the coverage at more than 1.04 crore families and the annual budget provision at approximately Rs 4,500 crore.

Important status note. Distribution of the packets began in August 2023 but was halted from around November 2023, and press reporting in 2024 recorded that packets had not been distributed for several months in many districts after the change of state government in December 2023. The scheme has not been formally withdrawn, but supply has been irregular. Anyone planning a trip to their ration shop should confirm the current position with the dealer or the district supply officer first. This guide describes the scheme as notified.

What does the Annapurna food packet contain?

Each packet issued under Mukhyamantri Nishulk Annapurna Food Packet Yojana contains seven items, weighing roughly 5 kg in total:

The packet is issued once per family per month and is completely free. It is in addition to, not in place of, the family's NFSA cereal entitlement. A family of six and a family of two receive the same single packet, because the packet is a household unit and not a per-head entitlement.

Who is eligible for the Annapurna food packet?

Your family can get the packet if:

• Your family holds a National Food Security Act ration card issued in Rajasthan.
• Your family is a permanent resident of Rajasthan.
• Your family has a Jan Aadhaar card, the state family identity number under which the entitlement is recorded.
• Your family was among the non-NFSA households that received Covid-period economic assistance from the state government. This group was specifically included when the scheme was announced.

Your family cannot apply if:

• Your family is not on the NFSA list. This is the single hard gate. Getting a food packet requires first getting on to NFSA, which is a separate process through the Food Department.
• Your family is not resident in Rajasthan, even if a member works there.
• Your family has an NFSA card that has been suspended or cancelled for reasons such as an income-tax-paying member, a government-salaried member, or a duplicate card. Such families are not eligible while the suspension stands.

There is no separate income test for the packet beyond the NFSA test itself, because NFSA already applies its own exclusion criteria in Rajasthan.

How to apply for the Annapurna food packet

1. Confirm that your family name appears on the NFSA ration card list. Check at your fair price shop, or through the Food Department's ration card search on food.rajasthan.gov.in.
2. If your family is on the NFSA list, no separate application form is needed — the entitlement flows from the ration card itself. Enrolment for the scheme was carried out at the Mehngai Rahat Camps held at panchayat and ward level from April 2023, where families produced their Jan Aadhaar card and received a printed guarantee card confirming registration.
3. If your family is not yet on the NFSA list, first apply for NFSA inclusion through an e-Mitra kiosk or at the office of the district supply officer, attaching your Jan Aadhaar, Aadhaar and income and residence proofs. Food packet eligibility follows automatically once NFSA status is granted.
4. Collect the packet from your allotted fair price shop in the distribution month, carrying your ration card and Aadhaar. Issue is recorded through biometric authentication on the POS machine at the shop, the same machine used for wheat.
5. Keep the guarantee card issued at the camp. Where a family's name is missing from the shop's list, the guarantee card is the primary evidence of registration.

How do I check whether my family is registered?

Registration under the scheme is tied to the Jan Aadhaar number. Three routes exist to check it:

• Ask the fair price shop dealer to look up your ration card number on the POS machine; the entitlement shows against the card.
• Check your family's records on the Jan Aadhaar portal, janaadhaar.rajasthan.gov.in, using your Jan Aadhaar number.
• Visit the district supply officer's office, which holds the district-level beneficiary list, or an e-Mitra kiosk, which can pull the same record.

Why families miss out on the packet

• Not on the NFSA list. The commonest reason by far. A BPL or Antyodaya card from an older scheme is not automatically an NFSA card.
• Jan Aadhaar not linked to the ration card, so the entitlement does not appear on the shop's POS machine.
• Aadhaar biometric failure at the shop, common for elderly members with worn fingerprints. The remedy is to nominate another adult family member on the card for biometric authentication.
• Migration, the packet is issued at the allotted fair price shop, and a family that has moved must get its card ported to the new shop.
• Supply not received at the shop. During the suspension periods described above, the shop simply had no stock. This is not an eligibility problem and cannot be cured by the family.

Where do I complain?

• Rajasthan Sampark helpline: 181, the state's general grievance line, which handles food and civil supplies complaints.
• District Supply Officer (DSO) of your district, for shop-level refusal, short weight or demand for money.
• Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, food.rajasthan.gov.in, which hosts the online grievance option and the ration card search.

A fair price shop dealer cannot charge for the packet, cannot make it conditional on buying something else, and cannot give a partial packet while recording a full issue on the POS machine. Each of these is a ground for complaint against the dealer's licence.