The 80 crore impoverished will continue to receive free meals under the BJP-led Center's five-year plan. The declaration was made by PM Narendra Modi during a rally in Chhattisgarh. Officials from the government estimate that this action will cost about Rs 2 lakh crore.
Currently, food grain recipients under the NFSA Act pay a small cost of Rs 1-3 per kilogram. According to the Act, Antodaya Anna Yojna (AAY) families receive 35 kilograms of foodgrain per family per month, while priority households receive 5 kilograms per person per month. The heavily discounted prices of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 3 per kilogram for rice, wheat, and coarse cereals, respectively, are applied. On the other hand, the beneficiaries of the initiative would receive free rations from the government in 2023. This announcement coincides with the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana's (PMGKAY) December 31, 2022,
PMGKAY was used in 2020 during the COVID pandemic when the government provided 5 kg of food grain to everybody who met the NFSA quota at no cost.
The PMGKAY program and the NFSA have now been combined by the Center.
A "New Year gift for the nation's underprivileged," according to government authorities, this latest Cabinet decision will allow over 81.35 crore individuals to get free food grains under the NFSA.
They have also stated that the recipients will not be asked to pay anything in order to receive food grains.
In July 2013, the Center implemented the NFSA, giving 67% of the population—75% in rural and 50% in urban areas—a legal right to significantly subsidized food grains.
The population estimates from the 2011 Census serve as the basis for the coverage under this Act. The NFSA currently covers around 81.35 crore people and is implemented in all 36 states and Union Territories.
The PMGKAY has allowed the government to distribute over 1,118 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to the states and Union Territories (total allocation from Phase I to Phase VII), as the Minister of Food, Piyush Goyal, recently stated to the parliament
Congress despises the self-respecting, self-assured poor. Its goal is to keep the poor destitute, always wanting them to appear before him and beg. You have put up with Congress's unfairness and corruption for the past five years, so the Congress Government here does everything in its power to halt any work for the poor that the Central Government initiates. You have thirty days left, I promise. You won't have this issue after that, the PM stated.
Additionally, PM Modi stated he is not afraid of abuses and accused Congress of mistreating the OBC Prime Minister and the community as a whole. He said that the total approved budget for food subsidies and central assistance for all seven phases—phases I through VII—amounts to almost Rs 3.91 lakh crore.
As Chhattisgarh prepares for impending political events, these remarks have heightened the mood and added gasoline to the ongoing political debate. It is anticipated that the political conversation will not abate in the run-up to the elections.
pic source- x
Ⓒ Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
