5kg free foodgrain scheme extended till March next year
NEW DELHI: In a bid to support the poor recovering from the COVID-19 shock, the Centre on Wednesday decided to further extend the free supply of 5kg foodgrains per month under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana for four months till March 2022, a decision that will cost an additional Rs 53,344 crore to the exchequer.
The decision, which will benefit over 80 crore ration card holders covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), was taken in the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Free foodgrains under the Pradhan
Mantri Garib Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme, announced in March last year to provide relief to the poor during the COVID pandemic, is over and above the normal quota provided under the NFSA at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kilogram.
The PMGKAY has been extended several times, and the previous extension was valid till November 30. Briefing about the decision, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said the Cabinet has extended the PMGKAY programme by four months till March 2022. When asked about the reasons for the extension of this scheme, Thakur explained that the Prime Minister wanted to help the poor, who had gone through the COVID-19 pandemic, with the distribution of free foodgrains for another four months even as economy is getting back on track.
Elaborating more in a separate press briefing, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said: “It is a pro-active measure to support people when they are in the process of recovery. The economy is in a state of recovery. People are also recovering from the (pandemic) shock. This is very a good decision to extend a lending hand to the population”.
“The state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been directed to make available the foodgrains and rail rakes for its movement,” he added.