Which of the following items will receive free of cost to the beneficiaries of Akshay Anna Yojana ?
A. Rice
B. Sugar
C. Red chilli powder
D. Turmeric
E. Jowar

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — option (4), 'All of the above'. The Akshay Anna Yojana is a Maharashtra state scheme run by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department to give eligible ration-card-holding households a basket of essential food items free of cost, over and above the foodgrain they draw under existing public distribution arrangements. The items supplied under the scheme span both staple grains and everyday kitchen essentials, and all five items named in this question — rice (A), sugar (B), red chilli powder (C), turmeric (D) and jowar (E) — fall within that basket, alongside other items such as edible oil, salt and mustard seeds. Because none of the five listed items falls outside the scheme's coverage, the only combination that credits every genuine item is 'All of the above'.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Correctly includes rice, sugar and red chilli powder but wrongly excludes turmeric and jowar, both of which are also part of the free basket supplied under the Akshay Anna Yojana.  (b) Correctly includes red chilli powder, turmeric and jowar but wrongly excludes rice and sugar — both staples that beneficiaries of the scheme also receive free of cost.  (c) Correctly includes rice, sugar and jowar but wrongly excludes red chilli powder and turmeric, which are likewise part of the scheme's free item basket alongside the grains and sugar.

Concept: The Akshay Anna Yojana is a Maharashtra state government food-security scheme, run by the state's Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department, that supplies eligible households with a defined basket of everyday food essentials free of cost, in addition to the subsidised foodgrain already available through the public distribution system. Its basket is built around household kitchen staples rather than grain alone — combining cereals such as rice and jowar with condiments and cooking essentials such as sugar, edible oil, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and mustard seeds — so that a beneficiary household's basic monthly cooking needs are covered by the scheme as a set, not just its grain requirement.

State PCS 2025 Q91 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2025 Q91 — Current Affairs PYQ with Answer