Congress vs. BRS: The tale of two rice policies & their effects
Food is the most basic of human needs. Everyone works hard to earn enough and eat heartily to their stomach’s content! The underprivileged people may be below the poverty line, but nobody is below the dignity line. So, is it wrong for people to expect good grains and eat good food?
However, the 10-year rule of the BRS government denied the underprivileged the dignity of consuming what is rightfully theirs. The BRS intended to destroy the public distribution system (PDS) scheme, introduced by the Congress government many decades ago, with a deliberate two-pronged approach:
- The previous regime discouraged the farmers from growing better and finer varieties of rice.
- They also ensured that the rice distributed to the ration card holders was coarse and inedible.
With these two manipulative steps, the BRS government deprived beneficiaries of a decent meal and also helped the black market flourish.
After a series of conversations with scores of (white) ration card holders, it was clear how the previous government not only paved the way for the black market to raise its ugly head but also added economic burden on the common man by forcing them to purchase fine rice for their consumption.
People-centric governance: Adding dignity to meals
And then, Congress assumed power and entered the picture. Within a few months, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy decided to provide 6 kg of fine rice to everyone eligible in each household. That decision indeed was a gamechanger in the lives of lakhs of people in Telangana.
Officially launched on March 30, 2025, the statewide distribution of fine rice began on April 1, bringing smiles to people’s faces. A year later, Congress still continues to keep its governance people-centric at multiple levels – starting with adding dignity to meals.
Vox populi: Happy times, happier people
Take the case of Lakshmi and her husband who work as watchmen in an apartment complex in Hyderabad. Sharing her experience of the rice available at the ration shop in the past few years versus her experience of procuring rice since April 2025, Lakshmi said, “When KCR was the Chief Minister, we used to get duddu biyyam (thick, coarse rice). Now, Revanth Reddy sir is giving us sanna biyyam (fine rice). And the rice (given now) is very nice to eat. Earlier, we used to sell off the rice we received and buy rice for our consumption by spending Rs. 500 to Rs. 600 per month. Since the government is now giving us fine rice, we can save that money (spent on rice earlier); we are now using the amount to get groceries for home, pay fees, or take care of other needs. My family is grateful to Revanth Anna for his gesture.”
How Congress’s ‘fine rice’ move changed lives
A potter from Goparajpalle village of Valigonda mandal in Nalgonda district, Naveen’s family used to shell out Rs. 5,000 for a 100-kg bag of rice, which amounts to Rs 50 per kilo. And the bag would last them around three months, he revealed, considering the family’s consumption of roughly 33-34 kgs per month.
Naveen shared how purchasing rice from a kirana store in his village added around Rs. 1,500 per month towards his family’s expenses. And that amount is what he is using now for “other needs”.
“We were forced to curtail our expenses, besides borrowing money sometimes to buy the bag of rice, to make sure we all eat three decent, square meals daily,” he added.
Naveen is one of the millions of happy beneficiaries of the PDS scheme who has been receiving fine rice for over a year now.
Part of a four-member family, Naveen shared how they used to get ‘banka duddu biyyam’ (sticky, thick rice) under the BRS regime, which he found was unsuitable for his family’s consumption. “We used to eat it sometimes when the going was tough. But most times we would sell it off,” he said, elaborating that they sold it to “people who had neither a kula vrutti (occupation) nor a decent job”.
When asked why they were selling the rice, he said: “What else could we do? The rice used to be quite bad so we couldn’t eat it. But for over a year now, we have been getting fine rice, which is of good quality. Although 24 kgs won’t last the whole month, it is better to buy 8-9 kgs extra than 33-34 kgs at such a steep price of Rs. 50/kg. We would still be able to save around Rs. 1,100 to Rs. 1,200 per month. We hope distribution of fine rice continues in the future too.”
Small grains, big impact
Earlier, the lack of purchasing power forced the beneficiaries of the PDS scheme to either sell the rice they received or consume it if they couldn’t afford better-quality grains.
Before April 2025, Sunitha Dhanavath from Bommalaramaram in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, wouldn’t dare to think about eating the rice that she procured from the ration shop. While she didn’t mind using other groceries like sugar and red gram, rice was altogether a different ball game.
“The rice distributed by the BRS government earlier used to have husk, stones, and, worse still, insects. We may not be rich but how can anyone think of eating such rice? Nobody would touch the rice, except to maybe extract oil out of it sometimes. So, most of us would sell it off to those who procure this rice and resell it,” said Sunitha and shared the flip side of the story.
The decision that made the difference
“Let’s say a family of 4-5 people gets 24-30 kgs of free rice in the ration shop. Even if one sold the rice for Rs. 10, with the amount they get, they won’t be able to buy 50 kgs or even 25 kgs of fine rice, as there’s a lot of price difference between fine and coarse rice varieties. Good quality rice costs a lot, sometimes a whopping Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 6,000 for a 100-kg rice bag. Can the poor really afford it? Still, we had to pay that kind of money to eat good quality rice,” she explains, who welcomes the Congress government’s move.
“Not everyone can afford good rice. Farmers who own land and cultivate can probably aspire to have good-quality rice. But even then, the lack of water, support, and encouragement under the previous government was another issue. Till the rice is harvested and reaches home, every stage is a challenge for the farmers. Now, the Congress government brought happiness to people like us with its great decision to distribute fine rice to everyone who is eligible to get 6 kgs of rice. The rice we got this month is very nice and tasty too. Not only do we get to eat three hearty meals now, but we can also save money,” she said.
Changing lives with every grain
A daily wage labourer, Srinivas lives with his wife Manga who works as a watchwoman. Talking about how fine rice has changed his life, Srinivas shared how they would sell the ‘duddu biyyam’ (coarse rice) received earlier to buy ‘sanna biyyam’ (fine rice).
However, his life, he said, changed for the better now as he doesn’t need to spend money on buying good rice, thanks to the Congress government’s distribution of fine rice “to everyone”. “I’ve been saving Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,200 per month over the past one year,” he said with a broad smile.
His wife Manga chimed in: “So many governments have come and gone, but nobody thought of providing us fine rice. Year
after year, we only got coarse rice. And we used to find it difficult to buy good rice at a high price. Revanth Reddy sir came to power, and things have changed now as he is ensuring we get to eat fine rice; we are now using the additional money (of Rs. 3,000 for a 50-kg rice bag) on other things, including our kids’ school fees. Revanth Anna is giving us not only good rice but also a gas cylinder for Rs. 500, which is a value-add to our family and other families like ours.”