Govt has provided free foodgrains worth Rs 3.9 lakh cr since April 2020 under PMGKAY: Tomar

New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the Centre has provided free foodgrains worth Rs 3.9 lakh crore since April 2020 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

The PMGKAY scheme was launched in April 2020 and has been extended several times. In September-end, the scheme was extended for a further period of three months up to December 2022 (Phase VII).

Under the scheme, the Centre provides 5 kilograms of wheat and rice free of cost to 80 crore poor every month. This is over and above the foodgrains supplied under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

Highlighting the achievements related to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Tomar said the PMGKAY was launched to ameliorate the hardships faced by the poor due to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to minimise its impact on food security.

According to an official statement, the minister said under the PMGKAY 1,118 lakh tonnes of foodgrains have been allocated to states/UTs so far with an expenditure of over Rs 3.90 lakh crore.

He also highlighted that the government has made a record purchase of Rs 2.75 lakh crore worth of crops at MSP (minimum support price) in 2021-22.

Tomar said the ambitious One Nation-One Ration Card scheme has brought a lot of relief to the poor across the country.

He noted that various initiatives including distribution of fortified rice, targeted public distribution and other schemes of the Centre are being extended to all the beneficiaries.

Giving details about the progress of the One Nation-One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme, he said it has been rolled out in all 36 states/UTs, covering about 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries.

Since the launch of the ONORC scheme in August 2019, more than 93 crore portability transactions have been registered, in which more than 177 lakh tonnes foodgrains have been distributed.

During the year 2022, 39 crore portability transactions were done in 11 months, in which more than 80 lakh tonnes foodgrains have been distributed, including inter-state and intra-state portability transactions of NFSA and PMGKAY.

Tomar further said the total procurement of foodgrains (including wheat, paddy and pulses) was 759.44 lakh tonnes in the year 2014-15, which has increased to 1,345.45 lakh tonnes in 2021-22.

Similarly, in 2014-15, the expenditure in terms of MSP value was Rs 1.06 lakh crore, which climbed to Rs 2.75 lakh crore in 2021-22.

He also highlighted the growth in the sugar industry during the last eight years.