Distribution of 5 kg food grains to poor under PMGKAY extended for 5 years: I&B minister Thakur

The government has extended the PMGKAY scheme to provide 5 kilogrammes of free food grains per month to around 80 crore poor people for another five years. The decision in this regard was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday. The scheme has been extended by 5 years from January 1, 2024.  Earlier, the scheme got extension till December 31, 2023. The minister said the expenditure on the scheme will be around Rs 11.8 lakh crore during the next five years.

PMGKAY was introduced in 2020 as a pandemic relief measure, under which 5 kg of free food grains per beneficiary per month was provided in addition to the 5 kg of subsidised foodgrain under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). In December 2022, as PMGKAY came to an end after multiple extensions, it was subsumed under the NFSA providing ration free for one year

With PTI Inputs