New Delhi. A decision in this regard was taken in the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This decision, taken before the general elections to be held in April-May next year, will put a burden of Rs 11.80 lakh crore on the government exchequer. Giving information about this decision on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) has been extended for the next five years from January 1, 2024. The minister said that about Rs 11.8 lakh crore will be spent on this scheme in the next five years. The scheme was earlier extended till December 31, 2023.
According to an official statement, 'Keeping in mind the welfare of the beneficiaries and to strengthen food security by providing affordable food grains to the target population, it has been decided that free food grains will be available under PMGKAY for the next five years. 'PMGKAY was implemented by the government in the year 2020 as a relief measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this, in addition to five kilograms of subsidized food items under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), five kilograms of free food grains are provided per beneficiary every month. After extending the period of this scheme several times, in December 2022, the PMGKAY scheme was brought under the NFSA providing free ration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while recently addressing a public rally in Durg, Chhattisgarh, had announced to extend the scheme for five years. In December last year, the Center had decided to merge PMGKAY with the National Food Security Act (NFSA), launched to provide additional food grains free of cost in the year 2020.
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