Centre, UP govt announce ration scheme extension
An official release said the decision was taken “in keeping with the concern and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of the society”.
The central government has decided to extend its free food grain scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, for another six months till September, Union minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.
A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hours after the Uttar Pradesh government, in its first major decision since chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s swearing-in on Friday, announced it will extend the scheme in the state for another three months.
“The extension of the scheme despite the end of the Covid-19 pandemic shows the Modi government’s sensitivity towards poor,” Goyal, the minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, tweeted.
An official release said the decision was taken “in keeping with the concern and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of the society”.
“In keeping with the concern and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of society, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme for another six months i.e., till September 2022 (Phase VI),” the release said.
The scheme was introduced as a Covid-19 relief measure in April 2020 and has been extended several times with the recent one until March 2022.
The scheme, which was to end in March, is believed to have impacted the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, where the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a majority, winning 273 of the state’s 403 seats with its allies.
“The strength of India lies in the power of every citizen of the country. To further strengthen this power, the government has decided to continue the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for six more months till September 2022. More than 80 crore people of the country will be able to take advantage of this as before,” PM Modi tweeted in Hindi.
While the government has spent approximately ₹2.6 lakh crore on the scheme so far, another ₹80,000 crore will be spent over the next six months, taking the total expenditure under PM-GKAY to nearly ₹3.4 lakh crore, the release said. The scheme will cover nearly 800 million beneficiaries, it added.
“Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly abated and economic activities are gathering momentum, this PM-GKAY extension would ensure that no poor household goes to bed without food during this time of recovery,” the release said.
Over 800 million beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) will continue to get an additional 5kg of wheat or rice per person every month under the extended scheme.
“Beneficiaries covered under both categories of food security Act, namely Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Householders (PHH), will be provided with an additional quota of free-of-cost foodgrains (Rice/Wheat) at a scale of 5kg per person per month, over and above their regular monthly entitlements,” an official from the food ministry said on condition of anonymity.
NFSA covers up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority households (PHH). While AAY households, which constitute poorest of the poor are entitled to 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month, priority households are entitled to 5kg per person per month.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister Yogi Adityanath government decided to extend the scheme for three months for the 150 million people of Uttar Pradesh.
“At the cabinet meeting today, we have decided to extend the free ration scheme for the next three months. It will benefit 15 crore people of the state,” the CM told reporters, announcing that the scheme will continue till June.
“During the Covid-19 period, the Prime Minister had started the Pradhan Mantri Anna Yojana for every citizen, benefitting 80 crore people of the country and 15 crore people of Uttar Pradesh,” Adityanath said.
“The state government had also started a scheme on its own for the ‘antyodaya’ beneficiaries and the eligible households from April 2020,” he said. The state government provided one kg of pulses, one kg of refined oil and one kg of iodised salt to each family, the chief minister said, adding that one kg of sugar was also being provided to the AAY families.
The double-engine government, a reference to the BJP’s governments at the Centre and in the state, has always stood by the people, Adityanath said, adding that even during the Covid period, not only free treatment, but free vaccines were also made available to them.
The UP government will spend ₹3,270 crore on the scheme, the CM announced.
