Extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) for another 6 months (April-September, 2022) to benefit the poor and vulnerable. Nearly Rs 3.4 lakh crore of financial outlay and more than 1,000 LMT of free foodgrains provided under the Yojana.
New Delhi: Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme has been extended for another six months till September 2022 (Phase VI). A Cabinet note stated today that the Cabinet took the decision considering the concern and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of society.
It may be recalled that the PM-GKAY has been under implementation since April 2020, as the largest food security program in the world. The Phase-V of the PM-GKAY scheme was to end in March 2022.
The government had allocated about 759 LMT of free foodgrains under the PM-GKAY till Phase V. With another 244 LMT of free foodgrains under this extension (Phase VI), the aggregate allocation of free foodgrains under the PM-GKAY now stands at 1,003 LMT of foodgrains.
The Government has spent approximately Rs. 2.60 Lakh Crore so far and another Rs. 80,000 Crore will be spent over the next 6 months till September 2022 taking the total expenditure under PM-GKAY to nearly Rs. 3.40 Lakh Crore.
This will cover nearly 80 crore beneficiaries across India and like before would be fully funded by the Government of India.
The Cabinet note said that even though the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly abated and economic activities are gathering momentum, the PM-GKAY extension would ensure that no poor household goes to bed without food during this time of recovery.
Under the extended PM-GKAY each beneficiary will get an additional 5 kg free ration per person per month in addition to his normal quota of foodgrains under the National Food Security Act. This means that every poor household would get nearly double the normal quantity of ration.
The benefit of the free ration can be availed through portability by any migrant labour or beneficiary under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan from nearly 5 lakh ration shops across the country. So far, over 61 Crore portability transactions have benefitted the beneficiaries away from their homes.
This has been made possible due to the highest ever procurement despite the century’s worst pandemic with the highest ever payment to farmers by the Government. For this record production in the agricultural fields Indian Farmers –‘Annadata’ deserves to be complimented.
-global bihari bureau
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