'PMGKAY Empowering Crores Of People': PM Modi Announces Free Ration For Poor Till Diwali

PM Modi interacted with the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana in Gujarat via video conferencing today.

PM Modi interacts with beneficiaries of PMGKAY in Gujarat

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana in Gujarat via video conferencing. PM Modi said that the scheme has been launched to provide necessary benefits to every citizen of the country and the government wants more people to enroll in the scheme.

PM Modi said that after the launch of the programme he has interacted with a lot of people and experienced that PMGKAY has empowered crores of people. PM said that the aim of the government is that every Indian should get food. PM said that this programme will continue across the country till Diwali and they won't have to pay a single penny to bus groceries.

"Since Independence, almost every govt said to provide cheap food to the poor. The reach of cheap ration schemes & budget increased during these yrs. But the effect remained limited. Food storage kept increasing but starvation & malnutrition didn't decrease in that ratio", said PM Modi.

"Today, in addition to the quota of wheat at Rs 2/kg and rice at Rs 3/kg, 5 kg of wheat and rice is being given free to every beneficiary. This scheme is going to last till Diwali. In Gujarat, around 3.5 crores people are getting benefit from this scheme", said PM Modi.

PM said that in these unprecedented times the world is applauding the way India is handling the crisis situation. PM reiterated the idea of bringing 'One Nation, One Ration Card' which will contribute to the country's development and no citizen will be malnourished. 

PM said that implementing new technology for delivering ration to the needy improved the system and ensured everyone gets food in India,

PM Modi also applauded the Indian participants at the Olympics and said that athletes are inspiring crores of people and the nation is proud of them. PM appreciated that fact the first time in history there is a huge participation by India in the Tokyo Olympics and said that the players battled the lack of resources during the Covid pandemic and still manage to soar high.

After PM's interaction with the beneficiaries, a public participation programme is being launched in the state to create further awareness about the scheme.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is a food security welfare scheme that was announced by the Centre in March last year due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. The scheme is operated by the department of food and public distribution under the Union ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

The scheme is operated by the department of food and public distribution under the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

The Centre informed Parliament in July that around 278 lakh metric tonnes of food grains had been provided to nearly 80 crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries under PMGKAY. This was given for a period of seven months from May to November 2021.