Although the situation on the COVID-19 front has improved significantly across the country, the poor who were the worst victims of repeated lockdowns that had to be enforced to control the pandemic, continue to suffer. Always sensitive to the needs of this class, the Narendra Modi government recently extended the scheme to provide 5 kg of food grains free of cost to the poor until September 30. This will cost the national exchequer a whopping Rs 80,000 crore.
The scheme, which started when the country went into a stringent lockdown two years ago, was to end on March 31. In the last two years, around Rs 2.6 lakh crore has already been spent under this scheme. But the Prime Minister remains determined to address the plight of the poor despite financial constraints.
In March 2020, the Union government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme to provide 5 kg food grains per person per month free to over 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) because of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. In keeping with the concern and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of society, the Union Cabinet has extended the PM-GKAY scheme for another six months.
Central officials, too, admit that even though the COVID storm has significantly abated and economic activities are gathering momentum, there is a need for the extension of this scheme. This would ensure that no poor household goes without food during this time of recovery from the pandemic. It is important to note that under the extended PM-GKAY scheme, beneficiaries will get an additional 5 kg free ration per person per month in addition to their normal quota of food grains under the NFSA. This means that every poor household would get nearly double the normal quantity of ration.
The government had allocated about 759 lakh tonnes of free food grains under the PM-GKAY till Phase V. Now with another 244 lakh tonnes of free foodgrains under this extension (Phase VI), the aggregate allocation of free foodgrains under the PM-GKAY now stands at 1,003 lakh tonnes of foodgrains which is a fairly good amount.
As it is, the PMGKAY scheme was announced only for a period of three months – April, May and June 2020 (Phase-I). Later, the government extended the scheme from July to November 2020 (Phase-II). With the COVID crisis continuing in 2021-22, the Union government in April 2021 had reintroduced the scheme for a period of two months – May and June 2021 (Phase-III) – and extended it for another five months, from July to November 2021 (Phase-IV). The scheme was again extended from December 2021 to March 2022 (Phase-V). This is the sixth extension, but a much-needed one.
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