The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacted with the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) in Madhya Pradesh today via video conferencing. An intensive campaign to create more awareness about the scheme is being conducted by the state government so that no eligible person is left out. The state is celebrating 7th August, 2021 as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana Day. Governor and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh were present on the occasion. About 5 crore beneficiaries are getting the benefit of the scheme in Madhya Pradesh.

Referring to Corona pandemic as once in a century calamity, the Prime Minister said that entire nation stood as one to fight against the challenge. He reiterated that, in the strategy for dealing with the crisis, India accorded the highest priority to the poor. From the very first day itself, attention was paid to food and employment of the poor and labourers. Not only more than 80 crore citizens are getting free ration but more than 8 crore poor families got free gas cylinder.

Talking about the advantages double engine government at the state, the Prime Minister lauded the state government for record MSP purchase. Madhya Pradesh, this year, purchased wheat from more than 17 lakh farmers and 25 thousand crore rupees were directly deposited in their account. The state established maximum number of wheat purchase centres this year. In ‘Double-Engine governments’, state governments supplement and improve the schemes of the central government and increase their power. National Handloom Day 2021: PM Narendra Modi Praises Tokyo Olympics Silver Medalist Mirabai Chanu for Promoting Handloom Sector.

It is to be noted that in year 2020, for a period of 8 months i.e., from April 2020 to November 2020, under PM-GKAY, Madhya Pradesh was allocated 21.9 Lakh MT foodgrains by Central Government for free of cost distribution to NFSA beneficiaries @ 5 Kg per person per month. Similarly, an allocation of 16.89 lakh MT of PM-GKAY food grain has been provisioned for the State of Madhya Pradesh for 7 months period in 2021 i.e., from May 2021 to November 2021.

Under PM-GKAY 2020 (April to November 2020) on an average, 85.4 % of foodgrains was distributed in Madhya Pradesh and under PM-GKAY 2021 (i.e., from May to November 2021), so far, an average of almost 89% of foodgrains has been distributed in the State of Madhya Pradesh from May 2021 till July 2021.

The State of Madhya Pradesh has established a technologically robust Public Distribution System with an automated supply chain management & Aadhaar seeding of around 100 % of the NFSA ration cards in the state. The distribution of foodgrains in the State is done with maximum transparency, with an average of more than 90.6 % of Aadhaar authenticated PDS transactions which is progressively increasing in the recent months.

The ambitious ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC) Plan, which is also an integral part of the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Technology Driven System Reforms under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, was enabled in the State from January 2020 and since inception around 1 Crore portability transactions (including intra-state transactions) has been recorded in the State. ONORC plan is currently enabled in 33 States/UTs and is serving as a gamechanger by allowing the NFSA beneficiaries, particularly migrant beneficiaries, to access the NFSA entitlements from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country.

To ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor and needy due to economic disruptions caused by the pandemic, the Central Government through Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) almost doubled the quantity of monthly foodgrains being distributed normally to around 80 Crore beneficiaries in the country covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) by providing them an additional quantity of 5 Kg foodgrains per person per month, free-of-cost, over and above the normal NFSA entitlement of their Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)/ Priority Householders (PHH) ration cards (i.e., 35 Kg per AAY family and 5 Kg per PHH person per month respectively). Bajrang Punia Wins Bronze Medal: See What Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gautam Gambhir and Other Netizens Had To Say About the Indian Wrestler’s Achievement in Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Initially, this additional free benefit under PMGKAY was provided for a period of three months (i.e., April to June 2020). However, with the crisis continuing, the program was extended for another five months (i.e., July to November 2020). After the onset of the second wave of the pandemic, PM-GKAY was once again rolled-out for a period of two months (i.e., May and June 2021) and was further extended for a period of five months (i.e., July to November 2021).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2021 11:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).