Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti on Wednesday illustrated the new 'social card' to be given to the economically disadvantaged in Italy.
The debit-discount card will give holders 40 euros a month to be spent in authorised food supermarkets, some of which will also offer a further 5% discount, Tremonti said.
The card can also be used for paying utilities and replaces the 'social' rates which national electricity giant ENEL applied for low-income earners.
The annual cost of the program is estimated at 450 million euros and 1.3 million people are expected to be eligible for the card.
Part of the cost will be paid for by the government's so-called 'Robin Hood Tax'.
The initiative, Tremonti explained, is based on similar programs carried out in other countries and dates back to the Food Stamps Program adopted in the United States from 1939 to 1943 and then reinstated in 1961.
