The Modi government on Saturday extended the ₹ 80,000 crore plan to provide 5 kg of foodgrains to the poor for free for six months at a cost of ₹ 80,000 crore till September 30, as it intends to continue supporting the weak amid recovery in Kovid. 19 epidemics.
The scheme, which started two years ago when India went into a severe lockdown, was to end on March 31.
In the last two years, the scheme has cost about ₹ 2.6 lakh crore and with a six-month expansion, it will cost an additional ₹ 80,000 crore.
In March 2020, the Center launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme to provide 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month free of cost to over 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). To alleviate the suffering of the people during the Kovid epidemic.
In view of the concern and sensitivity towards the poor and vulnerable sections of the society, the Union Cabinet has extended the PM-GKAY scheme for another six months till September 2022 (Phase VI), "an official statement said.
Phase-V of PM-GKAY project was to be completed in March 2022.
The government has so far spent an estimated ₹ 2.60 lakh crore and will spend another ₹ 80,000 crore in the next six months till September 2022, bringing the total expenditure under PM-GKAY to about ₹ 3.40 lakh crore, ”the statement said.
Food Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted that the expansion of the scheme shows the sensitivity of the Modi government towards the poor.
The extra free grain is more than the usual quota provided under the NFSA at a highly subsidized rate of ₹ 2-3 per kg.
Even if the COVID-19 epidemic is significantly reduced and economic activity picks up, this PM-GKAY extension will ensure that no poor family goes to bed without food during this time of recovery, "the statement said.
Under the expanded PM-GKAY each beneficiary will get an additional 5 kg of free ration per person per month in addition to the normal quota of foodgrains under NFSA.
This means that every poor family will receive almost twice the normal amount of rations, "the statement said.
With another 244 lakh tonnes of free foodgrains under this extension (Phase VI), the total allocation of free foodgrains under PM-GKAY is now 1,003 lakh tonnes of foodgrains, "he added.
Under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, free rations can be availed through portability by any migrant worker or beneficiary from around 5 lakh ration shops across the country. So far, more than 61 crore portability transactions have benefited the beneficiaries away from their homes.
This has been made possible by the government's highest ever payments to farmers despite the worst epidemic of the century with the highest payments ever made, "the food ministry said.
Indian farmers - 'Annadata' - deserve congratulations for this record production in the agricultural sector, he added.
The plan has been extended several times until March 2022 with the latest plan.
Initially in 2020-21, the PMGKAY scheme was announced for only three months April, May and June 2020 (Phase-I). Later, the government extended the scheme from July to November 2020 (Phase-II).
With the Covid Crisis continuing in 2021-22, the Center re-launched the plan in April 2021 for the two-month period of May and June 2021 (Phase-III) and extended it for another five months from July to November 2021 (Phase-IV). .
The scheme was again extended from December 2021 to March 2022 (Phase-V).
Initially, the government also distributed 1 kg of dal under the scheme, but it was stopped later.
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