On November 29, the government declared that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which offers free food grains to 80 crore underprivileged people, would be extended for a further five years, till December 2028.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that the prolongation will cost the exchequer INR 11.8 lakh crore during a Cabinet briefing. The postponement will take effect on January 1, 2024. On November 28, the Cabinet met under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a decision was made in this regard.
Recipients of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana receive five kilograms of rice or wheat at no cost. Since its initial introduction on June 30, 2020, the program has been repeatedly extended. The program is now scheduled to expire in December 2023. People will continue to profit from this arrangement through December 2028 if the extension is authorized.
Originally designed to help the underprivileged during the Covid-19 pandemic, the PMGKAY was extended after three months in April 2020. This free ration program provides 5 kg of food grains every month to low-income families.
According to PTI sources, the government’s guarantee that the extension won’t place a major financial burden on the fiscal years 2023–24 and 2024–25 gives financial sustainability for sustaining this assistance program.
In addition, it extended the special court arrangement for rape and POCSO cases by three years. A project worth INR 24,100 crore that will assist about 28 lakh tribal members was also approved by the Cabinet.
