Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will extend the free ration scheme for the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced while speaking in poll-bound Chhattisgarh on November 4. The scheme – Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana – will benefit 80 crore poor people of the country, he said.
“I have decided that the BJP government will extend the scheme of providing free ration to 80 crore poor people of the country for the next 5 years,” PM Modi said while speaking in Chhattisgarh’s Durg on Saturday.
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was introduced during the Covid pandemic in 2020, under which the government supplied 5 kg of food grain free of cost to individuals. This was in addition to the regular quota of food grains given under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
According to a government press release, the scheme has provided food security to the poor, needy and the vulnerable households/ beneficiaries so that they do not suffer on account of non-availability of adequate foodgrains.
In January 2023, the Modi Cabinet had approved a new integrated food security scheme for providing free foodgrains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) and Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries.
The new scheme was also named as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY). The scheme was implemented on January 1, 2023, “benefitting more than 80 crore poor and poorest of poor people”, the government said
