New Delhi Nov 24 PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hailed the Cabinets decision to extend the free supply of 5 kg foodgrains monthly under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana till March 2022 saying it is in line with the governments commitment of ensuring greater public welfareFree foodgrains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana PMGKAY scheme announced in March last year to provide relief to the poor during the Covid pandemic is over and above the normal quota provided under the NFSA at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kilogrammeTodays Cabinet decision will benefit 80 crore Indians and is in line with our commitment of ensuring greater public welfare Modi said on TwitterIn a bid to support the poor recovering from the Covid pandemic shock the Centre has decided to further extend the free supply of foodgrains per month under the PMGKAY for four months till March 2022 a decision that will cost an additional Rs 53344 crore to the exchequerThe PMGKAY has been extended several times and the previous extension was valid till November 30 PTI ASK NSD

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI In a bid to support the poor recovering from the COVID-19 shock the Centre on Wednesday decided to further extend the free supply of 5kg foodgrains per month under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana for four months till March 2022 a decision that will cost an additional Rs 53344 crore to the exchequerThe decision which will benefit over 80 crore ration card holders covered under the National Food Security Act NFSA was taken in the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra ModiFree foodgrains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana PMGKAY scheme announced in March last year to provide relief to the poor during the COVID pandemic is over and above the normal quota provided under the NFSA at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kilogramThe PMGKAY has been extended several times and the previous extension was valid till November 30Briefing about the decision IB Minister Anurag Thakur said the Cabinet has extended the PMGKAY programme by four months till March 2022When asked about the reasons for the extension of this scheme Thakur explained that the Prime Minister wanted to help the poor who had gone through the COVID-19 pandemic with the distribution of free foodgrains for another four months even as the economy is getting back on trackThe four-month further extension of the PMGKAY will cost an additional Rs 53344 crore to the exchequer he said adding that the total cost of the PMGKAY would reach about Rs 26 lakh crore including all five phases of this ongoing programmeElaborating more in a separate press briefing Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said It is a pro-active measure to support people when they are in the process of recovery The economy is in a state of recovery People are also recovering from the pandemic shock This is very a good decision to extend a lending hand to the populationAsked if this decision was taken to help the Uttar Pradesh government which had announced early November the extension of this scheme till Holi the secretary said The decision has not been taken for one state it is for the entire countryThe total outgo in terms of foodgrains for Phase-IV implementation of PMGKAY is likely to be about 163 lakh tonnes which would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of Rs 5334452 crore he saidThe state-run Food Corporation of India FCI has been directed to make available the foodgrains and rail rakes for its movement he addedWhen asked if there were demands from states for the extension of the PMGKAY a senior Food Ministry official said that there was no direct request made from state governments The decision was taken on account of the general demand and COVID-19 scenarioIn the wake of economic disruptions caused by the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 in the country last year the government had in March 2020 announced the distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrains ricewheat to about 80 crore National Food Security Act NFSA beneficiariesThe Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme were operational from April to June 2020 and July to November 2020 respectivelyThe Phase-III of the scheme was operational from May to June 2021 while Phase-IV of the scheme is currently operational for July-November 2021So far under the PMGKAY phase I to IV the Centre has sanctioned a total of almost 600 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to the StatesUTs equivalent to about Rs 207 lakh crore in food subsidy Out of which 541 lakh tonnes of grains have been distributed so far PTI LUX MJH NKD BAL

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend distribution of 5kg foodgrains per month for free under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana PMGKAY to over 80 crore ration card holders for four months till March 2022 a decision that will cost an additional Rs 53344 crore to the exchequerFree foodgrains under the PMGKAY scheme which was announced in March last year to provide relief to poor people during the COVID pandemic is over and above the normal quota provided under the National Food Security Act NFSA at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kilogramBriefing about the decision IB Minister Anurag Thakur said the Cabinet has extended the PMGKAY programme by four months till March 2022This will cost an additional Rs 53344 crore to the exchequer he said adding that the total cost of PMGKAY would reach about Rs 26 lakh crore including all five phases of this ongoing programmeIn the wake of economic disruptions caused by the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 in the country last year the government had in March 2020 announced the distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrains ricewheat to about 80 crore National Food Security Act NFSA beneficiaries The Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme were operational from April to June 2020 and July to November 2020 respectivelyThe Phase-III of the scheme was operational from May to June 2021 while Phase-IV of the scheme is currently operational for July-November 2021The PMGKAY scheme for Phase V from December 2021 till March 2022 would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of Rs 5334452 crore an official statement saidThe total outgo in terms of foodgrains for PMGKAY Phase V is likely to be about 163 lakh tonnesSo far under the PM-GKAY phase I to IV the Centre has allocated a total of almost 600 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to the statesUTs equivalent to about Rs 207 lakh crore in food subsidyOverall the government will be incurring an expenditure of nearly Rs260 lakh crore in PMGKAY Phase I- V the statement saidAs per the reports from the statesUTs so far 938 per cent of foodgrains have been liftedNearly 3732 lakh tonnes 939 per cent of July 2021 3720 lakh tonnes 936 per cent of August 2021 3687 lakh tonnes 928 per cent of September 2021 354 lakh tonnes 89 per cent of October 2021 and 179 lakh tonnes 45 per cent of November 2021 foodgrains have been distributed to about 7464 crore 744 crore 7375 crore 708 crore and 358 crore beneficiaries respectively PTI LUX NKD MJH MJH BAL BAL