Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said free foodgrain to the poor under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PM-GKAY) has given confidence to people that the government stands with them to reduce their distress during the pandemic.
Referring to the Covid-19 situation as the “biggest crisis of the century”, Modi said the government ensured that the poor feel that whatever might be the calamity, the country is with them and it did not let people sleep hungry.
“Despite hunger becoming a massive problem in many countries of the world, India identified the crisis and worked on it from the very first day of the pandemic,” he said, after a virtual interaction with PM-GKAY beneficiaries in Gujarat. Under this scheme, nearly 80 crores identified beneficiaries get 5 kg of free foodgrain per month and this will continue till Diwali.
“This is why Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is being praised across the world, and big experts are praising India for providing free foodgrain to more than 80 crore people during the pandemic. The country is spending more than Rs 2 lakh crore on this. Our only aim is that none of our Indian brothers and sisters remains hungry,” he said.
The PM-GKAY food security scheme is helping crores of poor people during the pandemic which has helped lessen the worries of the poor, Modi said in his address, marking the completion of Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani’s five years in office.
The scope and budget of cheap ration schemes rose since Independence but the effect it should have had on the poor remained limited due to ineffective delivery systems and selfish elements, the PM said. He added that the government used new technology to make the foodgrain delivery system to the poor more effective.