Cabinet Approves Extension of PMGKY; Underprivileged to Receive Free Food Grains Until November

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the allocation of additional food grain to beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for another five months- from July to November. 

 A meeting chaired by PM Modi approved the proposal to continue allocating additional 5kg of food grains to families below BPL.  As done earlier, the families will be provided with additional food grains every month under the  Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana(PMGKY).

Overall, 81.35 crore beneficiaries have been put under the quota, the government said.  The additional food grain would entail a subsidy of ₹64,031 crore it stated. 

In an official statement it said,” As Government of India is bearing the entire expenditure towards this scheme without any contribution by States/UTs, an additional expenditure of about ₹3,234.85 crore would be required to be met towards transportation and handling and FPS dealers’ margins etc. by Government of India. Thus, the total estimated expenditure to be borne by the Government of India will be ₹67,266.44 crore.”

 Also, the Department of Food and Public Distribution may decide on the extension of the lifting or distribution period under Phase III and Phase IV of PMGKAY as per operational requirements, arising out of adverse weather conditions like monsoon and snowfall, and supply chain and COVID-induced constraints. The total outgo in terms of food grains may be approximately 204 LMT. Additional allocation will ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by coronavirus. 

 External Affairs minister S Jaishankar welcomed the notice of extension and said it would be a big relief for the underprivileged during tough times.