COVID: PM Modi extends Govt’s free ration scheme PMGKAY for 80 cr people till Diwali 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the Nation on Monday announced the extension of the free ration scheme for 80 crore people till the festive season of Diwali.

Last year when the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed in India, the Government had provided a free ration to 80 crore beneficiaries for 8 months under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. As several states reimpose lockdown due to the second wave of the pandemic this year, the Government re-introduced the ration scheme in the month of May and June. Now, the Centre has decided to further extend the scheme till Deepawali, said PM Modi. Till November, more than 80 crore countrymen will get free food grains and no poor should sleep hungry, he added.

The Centre has been distributing monthly 5 kilograms of foodgrains per person at Rs 1-3 per kg via ration shops to over 80 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). In addition to this, 5 kg of free grains is being distributed to the same beneficiaries under the PMGKAY (Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana) scheme in May and June, to minimise economic hardships being faced by the poor during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To facilitate the scheme, the Union Government had requested states to ensure that Fair Price shops are exempted from lockdown restrictions as foodgrains are covered under essential items, it added. Further, the Centre asked states to take necessary steps for timely distribution of foodgrains at the ration shops without causing hardships to the beneficiaries and to widely publicise the measures undertaken in this regard.

With the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in many parts of the country, several states had reimposed lockdown restrictions to break the chain of infections and ramped up vaccination drive. As the cases begin to gradually decline, states have started to relax the curbs, in order to bring normalcy in the lives of people.

During his address to the nation, PM appealed to the youth to help increasing knowledge about vaccines and continue to follow safety norms as lifting the COVID-19 curfew doesn't mean the virus is gone.

India's COVId cases decline

With just over 100,000 new infections reported across India on Sunday, June 7, daily cases in the country dropped to their lowest level in over two months, highlighting the country's recovery from the devastating second wave of the virus outbreak. India reported 1,00,636 new Coronavirus cases today, down from 1.14 lakh infections yesterday, bringing the country's total infection count to 2,89,09,975. However, 2,427 people died in the period of 24 hours, bringing the total number of people killed to 3,49,186.