Withdrawal Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

Withdrawal Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

1073. SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B.:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS,  FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that the withdrawal of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) under which an extra 5 kg of free foodgrains was provided to every ration card holder will force poor families to spend more money per month to access the current level of entitlement, if so, the facts thereof;

(b) whether it is also true that the above decision was taken without consulting the State Governments, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is also true that the said decision will help the Government to save over Rs. 1lakh crore;

(d) whether it is also true that PMGKAY was introduced due to the deep economic distress faced by the people during the pandemic and the situation has hardly improved to withdraw the said scheme; and

(e) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto?

 

(a) to (c): Phase VII of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was in operation upto 31.12.2022. Central Government has decided to provide foodgrains free of cost to around 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries i.e.AAY Families and PHH persons. The decision is taken to strengthen the provisions of NFSA in terms of accessibility, affordability and availability of entitled foodgrai ns for the poor and ensure effective and uniform implementation of National Food Security Act 2013. The additional cost of making foodgrains free of cost to the NFSA beneficiaries will be borne by Government ofIndia. The decision of providing free foodgrains to AAY (@35 Kg of food grains per family per month) and PHH beneficiaries (@5Kg of food grains per person per month) shall be effective for one year, from 1st January 2023. Total food grains allocation under PMGKAY-1 to VII was about 1118 LMT & financial outlay planned was about Rs 3.91 lakh crore.

(d) & (e): The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) had been launched with the specific purpose of ameliorating the hardships faced by the poor and needy due to economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The allocation of free foodgrains, under PMGKAY was in addition to normal allocation done under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. The Central Government, to remove the financial burden of the poor beneficiaries and to ensure nationwide uniformity and effective implementation of NFSA, has decided to provide food grains free of cost to AAY households and PHH beneficiaries under NFSA, 2013, for a period of one year, beginning from 1st Jan 2023.