Centre’s 5-kg free foodgrain scheme on till March 2022
The HinduAcknowledging 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 the winter session of Parliament, as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week. This fifth phase of the scheme, from December 2021 to March 2022 will entail an estimated subsidy of ₹53,345 crore, with a total outgo of 163 lakh tonnes of grain, according to an official statement. Mr. Pandey told presspersons that despite the higher outgo due to PMGKAY, the Food Corporation of India’s food grain reserves currently stand at a record 616 lakh tonnes and are expected to increase to 942 lakh tonnes by June 2022 following rabi season procurement, stretching FCI’s storage capacities to their maximum limits.