PM Modi says BJP govt will extend free ration scheme for next 5 years

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will extend the free ration scheme for the next five years. The scheme - Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana - will benefit 80 crore poor people of the country, he said while speaking in poll-bound Chhattisgarh. The Prime Minister's statement came as the Lok Sabha poll are due next year.

"I have decided that the BJP government will extend the scheme of providing free ration to 80 crore poor people of the country for the next 5 years," PM Modi said while speaking in Chhattisgarh's Durg on Saturday. The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) was started during the time of COVID-19 crisis. According to a government press release, the scheme has provided food security to the poor, needy and the vulnerable households/beneficiaries so that they do not suffer on account of non-availability of adequate foodgrains.

ALSO READ: Chhattisgarh polls: BJP manifesto promises visit to Ayodhya Ram Temple, filling of one lakh vacant govt posts in 2 years "Effectively it has doubled the quantity of monthly foodgrains entitlements being normally delivered to beneficiaries," the release published in 2022 read. Later, in January 2023, the Modi Cabinet approved a new integrated food security scheme for providing free foodgrains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) and Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries. The new scheme was also named as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY).