Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, said that the One Nation-One Ration Card scheme across the country has brought a lot of relief to the poor.
According to him, through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana, the Centre has provided free food grains to the poor, worth Rs 3.90 lakh crore, whereas under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, underlining its commitment to the welfare of the farmers, the government has made a record purchase of Rs 2.75 lakh crore on MSP in 2021-22.
Tomar said that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana was launched to ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and to minimise its impact on food security.
The PM announced in March 2020 the distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrain (Rice and Wheat) to about 80 crore National Food Security Act (NFSA), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) & Priority Households (PHH) beneficiaries at the scale of 5 Kg per person per month under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PM-GKAY), under which 1118 LMT foodgrains have been allocated to States andUTs so far, with an expenditure of over Rs.3.90 lakh crore.
The 7th Phase (October-December, 2022) of PMGKAY is ongoing in the States and UTs.