Anurag Thakur addresses press conference briefing about the latest Cabinet decisions.
The total expenditure on PMGKAY scheme will be around Rs 11.8 lakh crore during the next five years from January 1, 2024
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for another five years from January 1, 2024, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday. The scheme was last extended till December 31, 2023.
Under the PMGKAY scheme, over 80 crore poor people are provided 5 kilograms of free foodgrains per month.
A decision to extend the scheme was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday.
Sharing details, Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said the PMGKAY scheme has been extended for another five years from January 1, 2024. He added that the expenditure on scheme will be around Rs 11.8 lakh crore during the next five years.
The PMGKAY was introduced in 2020 as a pandemic relief measure, under which 5 kg of free foodgrains per beneficiary per month was provided in addition to the 5 kg of subsidised foodgrain under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
In December 2022, as PMGKAY came to an end after multiple extensions, it was subsumed under the NFSA providing ration free for one year.
