The Central government recently announced an extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) for another three months until December 2022.
About
About PMGK Anna Yojana
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is a free food grain scheme introduced in March 2020.
Objective: To alleviate COVID distress.
The scheme is part of Atmanirbhar Bharat to supply free food grains to migrants and the poor.
Different Phases:
Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme were operational from April to June 2020 and July to November 2020 respectively.
Phase III of the scheme was operational from May to June 2021.
Phase-IV of the scheme during July-November, 2021 and
Phase V from December 2021 till March 2022.
Phase VI from April-September, 2022.
The financial implication for the Central government has been about Rs. 3.45 Lakh Crore up to Phase-VI of PMGKAY.
The PMGKAY scheme for Phase VII from September to December 2022 would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of 44,762 Crore.
The total outgo in terms of food grains for PMGKAY Phase VII is likely to be about 122 LMT.
Benefits allocated:
PMGKAY beneficiaries get a 5kg free ration per person per month in addition to their normal quota of food grains under the National Food Security Act.
Under NFSA, highly subsidized food grains are provided to about 75% rural and 50% urban population of the country.
Eligibility:
Families belonging to the Below Poverty Line - Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH) categories will be eligible for the scheme.
AAY families are to be identified by States/UTs as per the criteria prescribed by the Central Government.
Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support.
All primitive tribal
Landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers, and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector are included under the scheme.