Govt pegs food subsidy outgo for FY25 at ₹2.05 tr; breaches ₹2 tr for FY24
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Govt pegs food subsidy outgo for FY25 at ₹2.05 tr; breaches ₹2 tr for FY24

Live Mint  

The government has pegged its food subsidy outgo for the 2024-25 financial year at ₹2.05 trillion, after it overshot its estimate for the ongoing fiscal year amid efforts to curb rising food prices and ensure domestic food security. The government’s food subsidy bill has already hit ₹2.12 trillion in FY24, higher than the budgeted estimate of ₹1.97 trillion for the year. Mint on 17 January reported that the Union government’s food subsidy bill for FY24 was likely to overshoot the budgeted estimate and breach ₹2 trillion, prompting the food department to seek additional funds primarily to support its flagship welfare programme. The food department spent ₹72,250 crore for decentralised procurement of foodgrains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme in FY24 against a budgeted estimate of ₹59,793; ₹1.39 crore on food subsidy to the Food Corporation of India as against the estimate of ₹1.37 crore; and ₹420 crore against ₹350 crore on sugar subsidy for families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana programme.

India Pmgkay Subsidy Welfare Scheme Food Subsidy Subsidised Food  breaches  205  trillion  subsidy  estimate  govt  fy25  subsidised  food  outgo  pmgkay  welfare  scheme  tr  crore  pegs  fy24

History of this topic

‘Beneficiaries getting surplus food grains’: Rajnath Singh hails free ration scheme
6 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Beneficiaries getting surplus food grains’: Rajnath Singh hails free ration scheme

Hindustan Times  

Under the Centre's flagship free ration scheme, beneficiaries were getting more food grains than they could consume, and were selling the surplus in the market, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday. Rajnath Singh “Are you not getting five kg food grains?” he asked attendees at an election rally in Bihar's Karakat Lok Sabha constituency. Singh, however, stated that the …

Government approves extension of subsidy scheme on sugar supplied to AAY families by 2 years till March 2026
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Government approves extension of subsidy scheme on sugar supplied to AAY families by 2 years till March 2026

The Hindu  

The government on February 1approved the extension of subsidy scheme for sugar supplied to 1.89 crore Antyodya Anna Yojna families through ration shops for two years till March 31, 2026. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narender Modi, approved extension of scheme of sugar subsidy for AAY families distributed through Public Distribution Scheme for two more years till March …

Union Cabinet decides to extend free foodgrains scheme for five years
1 year ago

Union Cabinet decides to extend free foodgrains scheme for five years

The Hindu  

November 29, 2023 01:51 pm | Updated 09:16 pm IST - New Delhi Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at an election rally in Chhattisgarh that he would extend for another five years the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana — the scheme that provides free foodgrains to about 81.35 crore people — the Union Cabinet took a formal …

Poll timing: The Hindu Editorial on the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
1 year, 1 month ago

Poll timing: The Hindu Editorial on the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

The Hindu  

The Union government’s move to extend the free foodgrains scheme for the next five years is welcome as it will continue to provide food security to large sections of vulnerable people. Based on National Food Security Act entitlements, the scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, benefits about 80.4 crore people, under the categories of Antyodaya Anna Yojana and …

Free ration scheme to cost exchequer at least ₹15,000 crore extra per year
1 year, 1 month ago

Free ration scheme to cost exchequer at least ₹15,000 crore extra per year

The Hindu  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent announcement of the extension of the free food grains scheme for the next five years will cost the public exchequer at least ₹15,000 crore more each year, according to an official in the Union Finance Ministry. As per the budget estimate for the current financial year, the food subsidy bill works out to ₹1.97 lakh …

Free grains continue to be a poll driver
1 year, 1 month ago

Free grains continue to be a poll driver

Hindustan Times  

Speaking at an election rally in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will extend the free ration scheme, which was scheduled to end in December this year, by another five years. This newspaper has also held the view that the government’s intervention on the food security front during the pandemic and the decision to sweeten the withdrawal …

PMGKAY extension may cause fiscal stress if foodgrain prices shoot up: Experts
1 year, 1 month ago

PMGKAY extension may cause fiscal stress if foodgrain prices shoot up: Experts

Live Mint  

The government’s decision to extend its flagship food subsidy scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana, by five years is expected to put pressure on it finances, which have had a good run in the first half of the fiscal, with growth in both tax and non-tax revenues. While efficient expenditure management and buoyancy in tax revenues could avert …

Despite Centre’s allocation of free rice, Tamil Nadu’s food subsidy bill continues to go up
1 year, 9 months ago

Despite Centre’s allocation of free rice, Tamil Nadu’s food subsidy bill continues to go up

The Hindu  

Despite the Centre making the rice allocation free to States under the National Food Security Act, the Tamil Nadu government’s food subsidy bill is on the rise. As part of the NFSA allocation, Tamil Nadu’s share is approximately 36.77 lakh tonnes, of which the Antyodaya Anna Yojana category gets 7.83 lakh tonnes; Priority Households get 17.76 lakh tonnes and the …

The social sector has been short-changed once again
1 year, 10 months ago

The social sector has been short-changed once again

The Hindu  

The 2023 Budget did not have any big welfare announcements, which are usually expected from a government’s last full Budget before it faces national elections, and especially when there is a general economic slowdown that has particularly affected the poor. Along with grant-in-aid for capital assets, the budget estimate for effective capex is now ₹13.7 lakh crore, which is 4.5% …

Budget 2023 | Cut in allocations to farm schemes, food subsidy draws flak
1 year, 10 months ago

Budget 2023 | Cut in allocations to farm schemes, food subsidy draws flak

The Hindu  

The Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Wednesday, announced a number of measures for the agriculture sector, including an increase in the credit target to ₹20 lakh crore, with focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries. The allocation for the Department for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare was ₹1,24,000 in the last Budget estimate, but ₹1,15,531.79 crore …

No one went hungry as Centre provided free food grains to 80 crore people, says Sitharaman in Budget 2023 speech
1 year, 10 months ago

No one went hungry as Centre provided free food grains to 80 crore people, says Sitharaman in Budget 2023 speech

Hindustan Times  

The government ensured that no one went hungry during the pandemic by providing free food grains to 80 crore poor people, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. People queue up to take foodgrains from a government PDS shop in New Delhi. LIVE| The government is implementing scheme to supply free foodgrains to poor under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann …

New free foodgrain scheme as an illusion, doublespeak
1 year, 11 months ago

New free foodgrain scheme as an illusion, doublespeak

The Hindu  

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, ‘Squealer, the small fat pig’ was a brilliant orator who always spoke to the hard-working animals about a ‘readjustment of rations’, but ‘never as a “reduction”’. The Cabinet has announced that under the new avatar of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, 810 million National Food Security Act beneficiaries will receive five kilos of …

Free foodgrains distribution scheme to cover 80 crore poor named PMGKAY: Centre
1 year, 11 months ago

Free foodgrains distribution scheme to cover 80 crore poor named PMGKAY: Centre

The Hindu  

The Central Government's integrated food security scheme has been named as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, under which free foodgrains are being given to more than 80 crore poor people from January 1. The move also comes amid Opposition's criticism over the government discontinuing free monthly distribution of 5 kilograms of foodgrains to poor people under a scheme …

India aims for $17 bln cut in food, fertiliser subsidies in 2023/24
1 year, 11 months ago

India aims for $17 bln cut in food, fertiliser subsidies in 2023/24

Live Mint  

India aims to cut spending on food and fertiliser subsidies to 3.7 trillion rupees in the fiscal year from April, down 26% from this year, two government officials said, to rein in a fiscal deficit that ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food and fertiliser subsidies alone account for about one-eighth of India's total budget spending of 39.45 trillion rupees this …

Explained | How will the free foodgrain scheme work out?
1 year, 11 months ago

Explained | How will the free foodgrain scheme work out?

The Hindu  

The story so far: In a Cabinet decision on December 23, the Centre decided to provide 5 kg of free foodgrains per month for the 81 crore beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act during 2023, rather than charging them a subsidised amount of ₹3 a kg of rice, ₹2 a kg of wheat and ₹1 a kg of coarse …

Centre’s free grain decision may help T.N. save ₹1,650 cr. in subsidy
1 year, 11 months ago

Centre’s free grain decision may help T.N. save ₹1,650 cr. in subsidy

The Hindu  

The Union Cabinet’s decision to provide free grain to all beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act for one year may help Tamil Nadu save ₹1,650 crore in food subsidy. Monthly off-take The State’s average monthly off-take is taken as around 2.96 lakh tonnes of the grain, including about 8,530 tonnes of wheat and 2.87 lakh tonnes of rice. The …

A welcome move: The Hindu Editorial on the free grains scheme under food security law
1 year, 11 months ago

A welcome move: The Hindu Editorial on the free grains scheme under food security law

The Hindu  

The Government has decided not to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana,, a scheme that ran between April 2020 to December 2022, and provided additional allocation of food grains, i.e., rice or wheat from the central pool at five kilograms a month free of cost to beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act. While discontinuing the scheme, the …

81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year
2 years ago

81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year

The Hindu  

The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to provide free foodgrains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act for one year. Briefing the decision after the meeting of the Cabinet, Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal said the move was yet another reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pro-poor stand. The Prime Minister has taken a decision …

PM Modi will decide on extending PMGKAY beyond December: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje
2 years ago

PM Modi will decide on extending PMGKAY beyond December: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje

The Hindu  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a call on extending the PMGKAY scheme to provide free ration to the poor beyond December, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said on Thursday said stressing that the government has sufficient foodgrains stock. The scheme is till December..After that, the decision will be taken by the Prime Minister," Ms. Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for …

Fertiliser, food subsidy set to touch record level
2 years ago

Fertiliser, food subsidy set to touch record level

Hindustan Times  

The Centre’s subsidies on fertilisers and food are set to touch a record level of nearly ₹5.6 lakh crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023, overshooting the earlier estimate by a third, people aware of the matter said on Friday, adding that an expected uptick in government revenues is likely to ensure the situation remains well within the fiscal …

Prune some schemes to manage the fiscal deficit
2 years ago

Prune some schemes to manage the fiscal deficit

Hindustan Times  

A sense of déjà vu marks how events after Budget 2022-23 have played out, when one looks back at events after the 2020-21 Budget. This was primarily due to a rising import bill for petroleum products, fertilisers, and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, a food security welfare scheme extended to support vulnerable households to counter the inflation shock. …

Weighing in on PMGKAY, the free grains scheme
2 years, 1 month ago

Weighing in on PMGKAY, the free grains scheme

The Hindu  

The extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, a scheme to distribute free foodgrains to the poor, for another three months, comes as a surprise for many reasons. Aimed at providing an additional allocation of foodgrains from the central pool at five kilograms per person per month free of cost, the PMGKAY benefits cardholders of the Antyodaya Anna …

Dealing with freebies: As India needs food subsidy reforms, Modi can take a cue from Vajpayee
2 years, 4 months ago

Dealing with freebies: As India needs food subsidy reforms, Modi can take a cue from Vajpayee

Firstpost  

The release of two papers — from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund respectively — has once again brought the poverty debate into the limelight. The IMF paper, however, calculates poverty by using the National Statistical Organisation’s Consumer Expenditure Survey as base and adjusting it for direct effect of massive food grain subsidy given under the National Food …

Extending free food grain for poor scheme beyond September not advisable on fiscal ground: Expenditure Department
2 years, 5 months ago

Extending free food grain for poor scheme beyond September not advisable on fiscal ground: Expenditure Department

The Hindu  

The free food grain for poor scheme PM-GKAY should not be extended beyond September as it could strain government finances, the Expenditure Department has said. While the cooking gas subsidy to poor would cost the government ₹6,100 crore, the reduction of excise duty on petrol and diesel would alone cost ₹1 lakh crore. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month …

Govt seeks Parliament nod for additional spending of ₹1.5 tn in FY22
2 years, 9 months ago

Govt seeks Parliament nod for additional spending of ₹1.5 tn in FY22

Live Mint  

The government on Monday sought Parliament's approval for an additional spending of ₹1.58 trillion to meet its expenditure commitments towards settling loans taken from National Small Savings Funds for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and higher fertiliser subsidy outgo as the war in Europe has led to soaring prices of soil nutrients and their feedstocks. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the …

Centre explains reason for lower budget estimate than FY 2021-22
2 years, 10 months ago

Centre explains reason for lower budget estimate than FY 2021-22

Op India  

The All India Kisan Sabha, the farmer wing of the CPM, which is also a part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha that led the demonstration against the three farm laws, slammed the Union Budget, calling it anti-poor, anti-farmer, insensitive to genuine demands of farmers. In fact this is lesser than the allocation of 2.48 lakh crore…"https://t.co/8cYf3bGthN — AIKS February 2, …

Govt to allocate $40 billion for food, fertiliser subsidy in Budget 22: Report
2 years, 10 months ago

Govt to allocate $40 billion for food, fertiliser subsidy in Budget 22: Report

Live Mint  

India is likely to set aside about 3 trillion rupees on food and fertiliser subsidies in its budget next week for 2022/23, officials said, roughly the same amount the government budgeted for this fiscal year ending in March. In the budget Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is due to present on Tuesday, the government will allocate 1.1 trillion rupees to fertiliser …

Centre’s food subsidy likely to reduce in next fiscal. Read here
2 years, 11 months ago

Centre’s food subsidy likely to reduce in next fiscal. Read here

Live Mint  

Food Secretary Sudhansu Pandey on Thursday said that the government's food subsidy is likely to be a little less than ₹4 lakh crore in the financial year 2021-22. "We are expecting little less than ₹4 lakh crore food subsidy this year," Pandey said during a virtual press briefing. The Food Secretary in his virtual meet also mentioned that about ₹2.25 …

Cabinet extends 5-kg free foodgrains scheme till March 2022, says Anurag Thakur
3 years, 1 month ago

Cabinet extends 5-kg free foodgrains scheme till March 2022, says Anurag Thakur

Firstpost  

Thakur said this will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 53,344 crore to the exchequer. He added that the total cost of PMGKAY would reach about Rs 2.6 lakh crore, including all five phases of this ongoing programme New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend distribution of 5kg foodgrains per month for free under the …

Centre’s 5-kg free foodgrain scheme on till March 2022
3 years, 1 month ago

Centre’s 5-kg free foodgrain scheme on till March 2022

The Hindu  

Acknowledging that poor families still need food security support in the middle of a recovering economy, the Centre has decided to extend its free ration scheme, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, for another four months, until March 2022. At its meeting on Wednesday, the Union Cabinet also gave its formal approval to repeal three contentious farm reform laws in …

Centre extends PMGKAY till Nov for 80 crore people; will spend Rs 93,869 cr on free foodgrains scheme
3 years, 5 months ago

Centre extends PMGKAY till Nov for 80 crore people; will spend Rs 93,869 cr on free foodgrains scheme

Firstpost  

Under PMGKAY, launched during the first COVID-19 wave last year, 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act are provided 5 kg additional foodgrains free of cost per month New Delhi: The Centre will spend Rs 93,869 crore this year to provide 5 kg of foodgrains per month free of cost to over 80 crore people during May-November …

Cabinet Approves Extension of PMGKAY for 5 Months Till Nov
3 years, 6 months ago

Cabinet Approves Extension of PMGKAY for 5 Months Till Nov

News 18  

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana to provide free ration to over 80 crore people, mostly poor, by five more months till November-end. Early this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the nation had announced that the Centre’s free food programme PMGKAY will be extended for five months till …

Know All About Garib Kalyan Yojana — the Scheme PM Modi Extended to Ensure Free Ration for 80 Cr People
3 years, 6 months ago

Know All About Garib Kalyan Yojana — the Scheme PM Modi Extended to Ensure Free Ration for 80 Cr People

News 18  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended till Diwali. The Centre launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana in March, 2020 to distribute foodgrains quota of 5 kg per person per month free of cost to ameliorate the hardship faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by …

Free food grain scheme of central govt vs Delhi govt in Delhi
3 years, 7 months ago

Free food grain scheme of central govt vs Delhi govt in Delhi

Op India  

Two weeks after the Central Government announced that it will provide 5 kg of food grains free-of-cost to around 80 crores Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana beneficiaries during May and June 2021 amidst the second wave of COVID-19 cases, the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday announced that his government will provide two months of free ration to 72 …

Cabinet gives ex-post facto nod for free grains distribution for 2 months to poor under PMGKAY
3 years, 7 months ago

Cabinet gives ex-post facto nod for free grains distribution for 2 months to poor under PMGKAY

India TV News  

The Cabinet on Wednesday gave ex-post facto approval to a proposal to distribute monthly 5 kg free foodgrains to about 80 crore PDS beneficiaries during the May-June period under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. The PMGKAY was announced in 2020 for three months till July and later extended till November to combat the economic impact of COVID-19 on …

Niti Aayog Suggests Policy Measures to Supply Subsidised Foodgrains to Needy Without 'Pinching Govt'
3 years, 8 months ago

Niti Aayog Suggests Policy Measures to Supply Subsidised Foodgrains to Needy Without 'Pinching Govt'

News 18  

Niti Aayog has suggested policy measures to the food ministry that envisages various scenarios to ensure supply of subsidised foodgrains to the needy without "pinching" the union government's fiscal resources, according to a senior official. The scenarios, that have been constructed keeping in mind the National Food Security Act, 2013, have been made after the ministry had sought the advice …

Food Ministry vetoes Delhi’s ration delivery scheme
3 years, 9 months ago

Food Ministry vetoes Delhi’s ration delivery scheme

The Hindu  

The Centre has vetoed the Delhi government’s scheme for doorstep delivery of rations, titled Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana, which was set to include packaged rice, wheat flour and sugar. Centrally-funded rations given under the National Food Security Act cannot be clubbed with additional State rations under a scheme with a new name, the Food Ministry told the Delhi …

Govt may shift chunk of FY21 subsidy burden to next fiscal
4 years, 2 months ago

Govt may shift chunk of FY21 subsidy burden to next fiscal

Live Mint  

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry may shift a chunk of its subsidy burden from this year to the next fiscal, a practice it discontinued in FY20, as it expects the subsidy bill to top the ₹2.3 trillion budgeted. While food subsidy will rise because of the free ration provided under the Garib Kalyan Yojana and Atmanirbhar package, fertilizer subsidy will …

Centre Says up to 75 Crore Beneficiaries Got Free Grains Under PMGKAY in April-June
4 years, 4 months ago

Centre Says up to 75 Crore Beneficiaries Got Free Grains Under PMGKAY in April-June

News 18  

Union Food Ministry on Wednesday said free foodgrains under PMGKAY were distributed via ration shops to up to 75 crore beneficiaries during April-June period. In March, the government had announced distribution of 5 kg of foodgrains for free under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana to ration card holders for three months as part of the Rs 20 lakh …

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