The government on Wednesday approved allocation of 204 lakh tonnes of foodgrains at an estimated cost of ₹67,266 crore for extending the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for five months beginning July.
The Cabinet which met here approved monthly allocation of five kg foodgrains per person to 81.5 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act for five more months between July and November this year. The second phase of PMGKAY was launched for May and June months as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
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The sanction of around 204 lakh tonnes of additional foodgrain free of cost would entail an estimated food subsidy of ₹64,031 crore. As the Centre would bear the entire expenditure towards this scheme without involving States and UTs, an additional expenditure of about ₹3,234.85 crore would be required for meeting the transportation and handling charges, as well as FPS dealers’ margins, taking the total cost to ₹67,266.44 crore, an official statement said.
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