India, April 10 -- The Maharashtra government has started screening the 71.6 million beneficiaries who get subsidised foodgrains through the public distribution system with the aim of removing those whose income has improved in the past six years. The government expects at least 2.5 million beneficiaries to be deleted and will add that many new beneficiaries to the list.

Maharashtra has 18.4 million families below the poverty line (BPL), of which 16.58 million families get the benefit of subsidised foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). These families, comprising 71.6 million beneficiaries, are given rice at a subsidised price of Rs.3 per kg, wheat at Rs.2 and coarse grains at Re 1. An approximate 26.54% of the total BPL...