New Delhi: In his sixth short address since the pandemic began in March, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the extension of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana – key central scheme to help the poor during the coronavirus crisis.
The is a Rs 1.7-lakh crore financial package announced by the government to minimise the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on economy and poor.
The prime minister said that 80 crore people will get free ration for five more months. He also highlighted the work done by the Centre since the lockdown came into force.
“PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) will be extended till the end of November in which free ration will be provided to the poor. The extension will cost over Rs 90 thousand crore,” PM Modi said in his 4 PM IST address to the nation.
“Under the PMGKAY, we announced a package of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. In the last three months, Rs 31,000 crore have been deposited in the bank accounts of 20 crore poor families. Also, Rs 18,000 crore deposited in bank accounts of more than nine crore farmers,” PM Modi said.
Hailing farmers and honest taxpayers for their contribution in making the welfare scheme successful, PM Modi also restated the fact that India has a low fatality rate as compared to the world, a fact which he attributed to the government’s decision to impose an early lockdown.
The existing National Food Security Act provides 5kg of foodgrain per person monthly at a subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kg to the country’s poor. Under the PMGKY, the ration quota was enhanced by another 5 kg for free for the next three months in March.
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