Cabinet approves extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November; Read More-

NewsBharati    09-Jul-2020 10:08:06 AM
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New Delhi, July 09: The Union Cabinet approved further extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) till November for the distribution of free food grains to help the needy people to curb the economic disruptions caused due to the lockdown.
 
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The scheme that was launched in March 2020, free food-grains for three months i.e. April, May and June were provided. However, keeping in view the need for continuous support to the poor and the needy, it has been extended further for a period of the next 5 months i.e. July- November 2020.
 
 
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the decision to extend the scheme for distribution of free food grains to the poor. He said Rs 1.49 lakh crore will be spent on giving free food grain, pulses with 5 kg provided to per person to about 81 crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).
 
“PMGKY aims to provide a safety net to the poor and vulnerable who had been hit the hardest by the pandemic,” he said. Further, he added that said so far about 74.3 crore beneficiaries have been covered in April, 74.75 crore in May, and about 64.72 crores in June 2020.
 
"So far, all States/UTs combined have reported the distribution of nearly 107 LMT (89% of allocated food-grain) for the period April-June, 2020. About 252 LMT of NFSA and PM-GKAY foodgrains were moved by FCI all over the country using their robust supply network. Remote and inaccessible locations were continuously fed through other modes like Air and Water routes for the timely supply of food-grains to reach out to beneficiaries," the statement read.
 
On the other hand, "it is proposed to distribute 9.7 Lakh MT cleaned whole Chana to States/UTs for distribution to all beneficiary households under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) @ 1kg per month free of cost under for next five months -July to November 2020 at a total estimated cost of Rs.6,849.24 crore," it added.
 
It would cover about 19.4 crore households under the Scheme with all expenses to be borne by the Central Government. "Extension of the Yojana is in line with the commitments of the Government of India not to allow anybody, especially any poor family, to suffer on account of non-availability of food grains due to disruption during the next five months.
 
"Free distribution of whole Chana will also ensure adequate availability of protein to all the above-mentioned individuals during these five months," it further added. In the first phase of the PMGKAY (from April to June 2020), 4.63 lakh MTs of pulses have been distributed already, benefiting 18.2 Cr. households across the country.
 
Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for extension of time limit by three months w.e.f. 01.07.2020 for availing the benefits of “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana" for Ujjwala beneficiaries.
 
Under this scheme, Rs. 9709.86 Cr was transferred directly into the bank accounts of Ujjwala beneficiaries during April- June 2020 and 11.97 Crore cylinders were delivered to the PMUY beneficiaries in order to help the underprivileged people.
 
On review of the scheme, it has been observed that a section of PMUY beneficiaries are yet to utilize the advance credited into their account to purchase the cylinder refill within the scheme period. Hence, the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to extend the time-limit for availing the advance by three months.
 
This will benefit those PMUY beneficiaries who have been credited with the advance for buying the cylinder but have not been able to purchase the refill. Thus, the beneficiaries who already have the advance transferred to their account can now take the free refill delivery till 30th September.