Good News! Government extended Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for another 5 years

The government has announced the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for an extra five years, until December 2028, in a noteworthy effort to assist the impoverished. This decision, which was made public on Wednesday, November 29, aims to keep feeding an estimated 80 crore underprivileged people in the country with free food grains.

Government will borne Rs.11.8 lakh crore for the extension of this yojana

During a Cabinet briefing, Union Minister Anurag Thakur disclosed that the government will have to pay Rs.11.8 lakh crore more for the PMGKAY initiative's extension. It is planned that this extension will go into effect on January 1, 2024. On November 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a Cabinet meeting where the decision was approved.

This extension follows Prime Minister Modi's promise to extend the free ration program for an extra five years made earlier this month at an election rally in Chhattisgarh.

Monthly quota of 5 kg of food grains is being provided to underpriviliged

The PMGKAY was extended after it was first introduced in April 2020 with the goal of providing assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic for a period of three months. Poor families who participate in this program are given a monthly quota of 5 kg of food grains.

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the PMGKAY, which was launched in 2020 to provide additional food grains at no cost, were integrated by the government last year. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority households comprise up to 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban populations covered by the NFSA.

Launched in April 2020 amid the economic standstill caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) has played a pivotal role in providing millions of people in India with essential sustenance.

Subsidized ration at cost of Rs2-3 per kg

First conceived as a means of mitigating the extreme conditions that characterized the pandemic, the program provided participants with a monthly ration of five kilograms of food grains, augmented by subsidized ration at a cost of two to three rupees per kilogram, in accordance with the NFSA.

In addition, low-income tribal households, landless agricultural workers, rural artisans, and people making a living in the unofficial sector—such as rickshaw pullers, porters, slum dwellers, and others—are eligible for aid.

This program helps families of HIV-positive individuals

Through this program, families of HIV-positive individuals who are below the poverty line can also receive support. Priority Households (PHH) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households are the main beneficiaries of the scheme.

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Furthermore, households led by individuals with difficult circumstances—widows, terminally ill individuals, disabled individuals, or those 60 years of age or older without guaranteed means of subsistence—fall under its purview.

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