\n– Statement 1 is incorrect. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 entitles up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population to receive subsidised food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). These beneficiaries are classified as ‘priority households’ and also include households covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY). Eligibility is determined by states\/UTs based on criteria defined within the framework of the Act, and it is not limited *only* to the traditional ‘below poverty line (BPL)’ category.
\n– Statement 2 is correct. Section 13 of the NFSA, 2013, explicitly states that for the purpose of issuance of a ration card under the Act, the eldest woman in a household, of age eighteen years or above, shall be the head of the household.
\n– Statement 3 is incorrect. Section 4 of the NFSA, 2013, entitles pregnant women and lactating mothers to nutritious meals, free of cost, during pregnancy and six months after childbirth, through the local anganwadis. It also guarantees a maternity benefit of not less than `6000. However, the Act itself does not specify a “take-home ration of 1600 calories per day” as the entitlement. While supplementary nutrition programs like ICDS (often linked with NFSA implementation) may have guidelines that result in a certain caloric intake delivered through take-home rations or meals, the specific entitlement defined *in the Act* is meals and maternity benefit, not a fixed caloric take-home ration value.
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