Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
MP Satnam Sandhu raises issue of food distribution to poor under PMGKAY during budget session of Parliament
PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana covers 100% poor & needy in Punjab, over 1.41 Crore State Residents Getting Free & Subsidised Food Grains under Food Security Act, Reveals Data Shared by Union Minister in Parliament
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, February 15, 2025: To provide free and subsidized food grains to more than 80.56 Crore beneficiaries belonging to poor families and needy families, Union Government has spent over Rs 35,386 Crores in the last five years (between 2020 and 2024) under Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) with the scheme covering 100 % National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries in 14 States including Punjab, the Union Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya informed Parliament in response to a question asked by Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu during the Budget Session of the House on beneficiaries covered under PMGKAY.
In her reply, the Union Minister Bambhaniya said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution has also released a food subsidy of Rs 7,87,816 Crores to Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Decentralized Procurement States during the same period for procurement of food-grains provided to the targeted beneficiaries at highly subsidised rates.
In his question, MP Satnam Singh Sandhu had sought details regarding the amount of expenditure and number of beneficiaries who availed free ration under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, especially in Punjab. He also sought details of the amount of expenditure on the scheme (PMGKAY) since its launch in 2020, steps taken by the Ministry to ensure the quality of food grains distributed through the Public Distribution Syatem (PDS) and initiatives taken to improve storage and reduce wastage of food grains in government warehouses.
Sharing data, the Union Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Bambhaniya said 100 per cent of over 1.41 Crore National Food Security Act beneficiaries in Punjab are being provided free and subsidised food grains under Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). She said while 100 percent NFSA beneficiaries are being covered in 14 states including Punjab under PMGKAY, above 90 % NFSA beneficiaries are being covered under the scheme in 18 States and Union Territories.
The data shared by the Ministry also revealed that as many as 141.45 lakh beneficiaries are availing the benefits of free ration scheme in Punjab and 2.99 lakh beneficiaries are covered under the scheme in Chandigarh.
With 1498.70 lakh beneficiaries Uttar Pradesh stands at the top of the table in terms of availing the benefits of PMGKAY; states like West Bengal have 601.84 lakh beneficiaries, Rajasthan have 440.01 lakh beneficiaries, Odisha 325 lakh beneficiaries, Tamil Nadu have 364 beneficiaries and J&K have 72.41 beneficiaries who are availing the free ration scheme.
In her reply, the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Bambhaniya said, “Only good quality foodgrains free from insect infestation and conforming to food safety standards are issued through the Targeted Public Distribution System under the PMGKAY,”.
Listing steps taken by the Union government to ensure quality and standardization in storage, the Minister said careful examination of stock is carried out at the time of the receipt of the stock and grade of stock is assessed in order to determine the quality and storability.
“To facilitate proper analysis and grading of stock, all the warehouses have been provided with a fully equipped lab. In order to store stock on scientific line timely repair and maintenance of the godowns is ensured. The godowns are kept clean and tidy and free from any harboring insect colonies, cobwebs, spiders and other pests. Regular collection of spillage is done and aeration is imparted in the godowns to reduce the grain temperature to attain a temperature which is unfavorable to the pest growth so as to achieve an innocuous level. Timely prophylactic and curative treatments are carried out in order to protect the foodgrain from pest infestation and inspections are done in regular intervals to assess the health of the stored stock,” the Union Minister said.
Praising the Union government for showing dedication to the cause of the poor and the underprivileged during the past 10 years, Rajya Sabha Member Satnam Singh Sandhu said, “The Union government under the leadership Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken unprecedented measures to ensure accessibility, affordability and availability of foodgrains to the poor and ensure that millions of vulnerable families do not go hungry,”.
“In this year budget – 2025, the Union Government has increase the allocation for the Food and Public Distribution Ministry to Rs 2,11,406.37 crore from Rs 2,05,474.97 crore from previous year out of this, Rs 2,03,420 crore is for food subsidy schemes primarily for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) which was introduced to help alleviate the difficulties faced by the poor and needy due to the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2024, the Modi government took a seminal decision by extending the period for distribution of food grains under this scheme for five years. This is a historic decision that places PMGKAY amongst the world’s biggest social welfare schemes aimed at ensuring food and nutrition security for 81.35 crore persons, at an estimated cost of Rs 11.80 lakh crore over a five-year period,”.
“The Modi government has reformed the Public Distribution System (PDS) through digitization, transparency, and efficient distribution. All 20.4 crore household ration cards for 81.35 crore beneficiaries are now digitized, with 99.8% of cards and 98.7% of beneficiaries Aadhaar-seeded. Food grain distribution is powered by 5.33 lakh e-PoS devices, ensuring rightful targeting via Aadhaar authentication, reducing leakages to ineligible beneficiaries and mitigating any risk of pilferage. These efforts have reduced leakages, eliminated 5.8 crore duplicate ration cards, and ensured only eligible people benefit from PMGKAY,” he said.
Sandhu said success of the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) initiative is ensuring nationwide access to free food grains for all NFSA beneficiaries, regardless of location.