The Government of India announced Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to ameliorate the hardship faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by Corona virus.
- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana , PMGKAY; Prime Minister’s Food Security Scheme for the Poor is a food security welfare scheme announced by Government of India in March 2020, during the COVID 19 Pandemic in India .
- The program is operated by the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs , Food and Public Distribution.
- The scheme aims to feed the poorest citizens of India by providing grain through the Public Distribution System , to all the priority households (ration card holders and those identified by the Antyodaya Anna Yojana scheme).
- PMGKAY provides 5 kg of rice or wheat per person and 1 kg of dal to each family holding a ration card.
The scale of this welfare scheme makes it the
largest food security program in the world.
- Food Corporation of India has supplied 69 LMT free food grains to all 36 States/ UTs. 13 States/ UTs i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Punjab, Telangana and Tripura have lifted full allocation for May-June 2021.
- 23 States/ UTs i.e. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Daman Diu D&NH, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have lifted 100% May 2021 allocation.
- Out of 7 North Eastern States, 5 States i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura have lifted the full allocation of May-June 2021. In Manipur and Assam, lifting of free food grains is in full swing and likely to be completed shortly.
- FCI is transporting food grains all across the country to ensure smooth supply to all States/ UT Governments. During May 2021, 1433 food grain rakes have been loaded by FCI at an average 46 rakes per day.
The Government of India will bear the entire cost on account of such distribution including food subsidy, intra-state transportation and dealer’s margin/ additional dealers margin, without any sharing by States/ UTs.
- The Government of India has sensitized all the States/ UT Governments to complete the distribution of free food grains under PMGKAY in time bound manner.
Source : PIB, The Hindu, The Indian Express , Wikipedia, Google , LSTV, RSTV
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