Centre allocates 5.88 lakh tonnes more of food grains for distribution to 800 million-odd beneficiaries
06 May 2021
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The Department of Food and Public Distribution has started implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-III), to provide free food grains to 800 million beneficiaries across 28 states/union territories for the two months of May and June, with an allocation of Rs26,000 crore.
The scheme is intended to make sure that the poor and vulnerable beneficiaries under NFSA do not suffer on account of the non-availability of foodgrains during the unprecedented time of crisis.
Food Corporation of India has already positioned sufficient food grains in all states/ UTs for successful implementation of the scheme and has already started supplying food grains to states/UTs governments. Till 3 May 2021, 28 states/ UTs have started lifting from FCI depots and 5.88 lakh tonnes of food grains have been supplied for further distribution to beneficiaries.
Lakshadweep has completely lifted May-June allocation whereas Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have already lifted 100 per cent of May allocation. Rest of the states/ UTs (Punjab, Chandigarh, Goa, MP, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha and Puducherry) have also been sensitised to immediately start the lifting under the said scheme and the same is likely to be accelerated in coming days.
The states/UTs have also been advised to encourage migrant NFSA beneficiaries for using the facility of portability under One Nation One Ration Card plan.
The Government of India will bear the entire cost on implementation of PMGKAY (May-June 2021) scheme, without any sharing by states/UTs.
Under this special scheme, about 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries covered under both categories of NFSA, namely Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH), are being provided with an additional quota of free-of-cost foodgrains (rice/wheat) at a scale of 5 kg per person per month, over and above their regular monthly entitlements.
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