In the state budget presented for the year 2020-21, the Gujarat government for the first time added Tur Dal in the list of groceries that will be given to 66 lakh beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System on Wednesday. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel who presented the budget in the state legislature said, "I am glad to inform that our government has for the first time added Tur Dal in the list of grocery given under the PDS so that poor and middle-class people can get protein-rich food. Under this 12 kilogram of Tur Dal will be distributed to each of the 66 lakh beneficiaries at a concessional rate. A provision of Rs 287 crore has been made." For the next fiscal, the government has made a total provision of Rs 731 crore for distributing essential commodities like wheat, rice, cotton seeds, oil, iodized salt, sugar, kerosene through fair price shops under the National Food Security Act and PDS. "We take sufficient care to ensure that every eligible person gets the benefit of this scheme," he added.
