Puducherry Nov 29 PTI Chief Minister of Puducherry N Rangasamy on Monday launched the free rice and sugar scheme started by the government of the Union Territory for families covered under the public distribution system PDS The launch took place in a village near here The scheme envisages distribution of 10 kg rice and two kg sugar to each of the 272525 families holding either red colour or yellow colour ration cards This involved an expenditure of Rs 1330 crore a press release said The families are getting the freebies irrespective of their income status Civil Supplies Minister of the Union Territory Sai J Saravana Kumar and secretary to Civil Supplies Udayakumar were also present The scheme was to be launched prior to Deepavali but finalisation of the tenders to procure rice and sugar was delayed The government has now finalised the tenders and launched the scheme The products would be available through Civil Supplies Corporation-run fair price shops or those operated by private licenceesPTI CORNVG NVG
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