On 4th November (Saturday), the Bhartiya Janata Party-led NDA government extended the free ration scheme for 80 crore poor, which is by far the biggest food security scheme, for the next five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this announcement while addressing an election rally at Chhattisgarh’s Durg. This move will incur an expenditure of approximately Rs 2 lakh crore, as stated by government officials.
PM Modi announced, “I have decided that the BJP government will extend the scheme of providing free rations to 80 crore poor people in the country for the next 5 years. Your love and blessings always give me the strength to make sacred decisions.”
Addressing the rally, PM Modi asserted that the biggest priority of the BJP government at the Center is the welfare of the poor. He stressed that for him the biggest caste in the country is that of the poor. Further, he also lambasted the opposition parties accusing them of breaking the unity of the poor by unleashing the poison of casteism among them.
Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)
Prime Minister Modi has announced the extension of the scheme for an additional five years, as it was set to conclude in December of this year.
Under this scheme, about 80 crore poor citizens across the nation receive 5 kg of food grains per person per month, free of cost. These 80 crore beneficiaries are those who have ration cards as recognised under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). PMGKAY rations are provided to eligible cardholders in addition to the subsidised food grains they receive from local ration shops.
Currently, NFSA Act beneficiaries are charged a nominal fee of Rs 1-3 per kilogram for food grains. The Act stipulates an allocation of 5 kilograms of food grain per person every month for priority households and 35 kilograms per family every month for Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families, with highly subsidised rates of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 3 per kilogram for coarse cereals, wheat, and rice, respectively. However, in 2023, the government provided these beneficiaries with free rations under the scheme.
Now, the Centre has amalgamated the PMGKAY scheme with the NFSA. The implementation of this Act is based on the 2011 Census population data. Currently, the NFSA is in effect across all 36 states and Union Territories, benefiting approximately 81.35 crore individuals.
The world’s largest food security scheme (PMGKAY Scheme) was announced in March 2020. The aim was to provide assistance to the poor during the challenging and uncertain times of COVID pandemic. With the objective of reducing the stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring a smooth ration supply to the people, the scheme successfully served its intended purpose. It also ensured that no Indian citizen had to sleep with an empty belly. Since then has seen multiple extensions because of its successful implementation and positive outcome.
Evidently, in April 2022, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded India’s efforts for food distribution during the pandemic. It said that the country averted the rise in extreme poverty during the period by assuring food security through Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
Recently, the Minister of Food, Piyush Goyal informed the parliament about the details under the PMGKAY. He stated that under the scheme, the government allocated an aggregate of nearly 1,118 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to the states and Union Territories (total allocation from Phase I to Phase VII). He added that the overall sanctioned budget for food subsidies and central assistance for all phases, from I to VII, amounts to about Rs 3.91 lakh crore.