Free food grain scheme till Nov-THE HINDU-01-07-2020

Context:PM announced extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana till November, 2020.

Details:

*PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the free grain distribution scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended by five months till the end of November, with an additional estimated outlay of Rs90,000 crore.

* He made the announcement during an address to the nation via television, stating that the Indian government’s decision to start the PMGKAY within days of the nationwide lockdown had ensured that the poorest of the poor were not left hungry, with 80 crore people having benefited from the free distribution of grains.

*more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat or rice per month along with 1 kg free whole chana (pulses) to each family per month.

*Centre has provided a total of 116.34 lakh metric tonne (LMT) food grains for the April-June period which have been lifted by various States & Union Territories (UTs) and distributed to 59.29 crore beneficiaries.

*One Nation One Ration Card: As on 01 June 2020, it is enabled in 20 States/UTs, namely – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Daman & Diu (Dadra and Nagar Haveli), Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Tripura. By 31st March 2021 all remaining States will be added and the scheme will be operational all over India.

*Timely decisions of lockdown and to distribute free grain, by both the government and civil society outfits ensured that our poor did not suffer hunger. Mr Modi added that with the amount already spent since April, the total outlay for the scheme would go up to Rs1.5 lakh crore.

*According to government sources, the next few months may see slow recovery in the economy as the COVID-19 cases, as also mentioned by Prime Minister Modi, showed an uptick but with lower mortality rates compared to other countries.

*The low mortality rates are a result of taking the right decisions of lockdown at the right time and precautions of wearing masks, washing hands frequently and maintaining social distancing. People must stick to the precautions as they did under Lockdown.

---------------------------------------
Paper-GS-02

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE