To support the poor, the Centre is expected to continue with subsidised sale of sugar to about 25 million Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families, bearing a financial burden of around Rs 550 crore a year.
Officials said the finance ministry seemed to be amiable to a suggestion from the ministry of food for continuation of sugar subsidy for AAY families, as they were among the poorest of the poor. A Cabinet note could be prepared soon. The Centre had scrapped the subsidy on sugar amounting to Rs 4,500 crore in the 2017-18 Budget.
The subsidy was granted to enable states to distribute cheap sugar to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.