Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: Relevance

• GS 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: Context

• Cabinet has recently approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) for another four months from December 2021 to March 2022.

About PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY)

• PMGKAY is a scheme by Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• It is a scheme as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat to supply free food grains to migrants and poor.
• Government of India announced the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) in 2020 to ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor due to economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 in the country.
• This package inter-alia comprises the implementation of “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY)”, through which additional free-of-cost food grains (Rice/Wheat) at the scale of 5 Kg per person per month are being provided to about 81 Crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), so that poor and vulnerable families/beneficiaries are able to access food-grains easily without facing any financial distress.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: All phases

• Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme was operational from April to June, 2020 and July to November, 2020 respectively.
• Phase-III of the scheme was operational from May to June, 2021.
• Phase-IV of the scheme was operational for July-November, 2021
• Phase-V of the scheme will be operational by December 2021 to March 2022.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: Phase V

• The total outgo in terms of food-grains for PMGKAY Phase V is likely to be about 163 LMT.
• The estimated additional food subsidy will entail around 53000 Crore.
• Overall, the government will be incurring an expenditure of nearly 2.60 lakh Crore in PMGKAY Phase I- V.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana eligibility

• Families belonging to the Below Poverty Line – Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH) categories will be eligible for the scheme.
• PHH are to be identified by State Governments/Union Territory Administrations as per criteria evolved by them. AAY families are to be identified by States/UTs as per the criteria prescribed by the Central Government:
• Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support.
• Widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more or single women or single men with no family or societal support or assured means of subsistence.
• All primitive tribal households.
• Landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers, and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector like porters, coolies, rickshaw pullers, hand cart pullers, fruit and flower sellers, snake charmers, rag pickers, cobblers, destitutes and other similar categories in both rural and urban areas.
• All eligible Below Poverty Line families of HIV positive persons.

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