Congress Announces Doubling Ration For Poor To 10 Kg, Takes Everyone By Surprise

Claiming credit for the free foodgrains scheme, Rahul Gandi had at a rally in Jhansi on Tuesday said, “The free foodgrains distributed by Narendra Modi has its origins in the UPA government — the food security Act. This was our scheme. When we return to form the government, we will distribute better rice, and foodgrains… more and better than what they do.”

The Central government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which aims to provide free food grains to 81.35 crore people under the National Food Security Act, in April 2020 in the wake of the Covid outbreak. Under the scheme, an additional quantity of 5 kg of free food grains was provided to every person on top of their NFSA entitlement of subsidised food grains. Under the NFSA, the government provides rice at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 per kg and coarse grains at Rs 1 per kg.

In December 2022, the government merged the PMGKAY with the NFSA and decided to provide free food grains to NFSA beneficiaries as per their entitlement for a year beginning January 2023. But it discontinued the additional quantity (5 kg) that was being provided under the PMGKAY.

Campaigning for the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and  Chhatisgarh in November, Prime Minister Modi announced extension of the scheme for five more years. Days later, the Union Cabinet cleared the extension for five years, beginning January this year. “The approximate food subsidy for five years for distribution of food grains under PMGKAY will be to the tune of Rs. 11.80 lakh crore. Thus, the Centre will spend approx. Rs. 11.80 lakh crore during the period of next five years as food subsidy under PMGKAY, to provide free food grains to the targeted population,” an official statement had said.