The government on Wednesday approved naming the scheme under which free foodgrain under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) will be provided to states as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).
According to an official statement, PMGKAY will subsume the two schemes — subsidies provided through the food ministry to those states who follow the decentralised procurement system and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for procurement, allocation and delivery of free foodgrain to states under NFSA.
The Centre last year decided to provide foodgrain free to states under NFSA for one year beginning January.
Till December 31, 2022, under the food security legislation, the Centre distributed 5 kg of foodgrain per person per month at highly subsidised rates of Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kg for rice and wheat, respectively, to states. Additionally, families covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana received 35 kg grain per month free. Around 55 million tonne was provided to states annually for NFSA beneficiaries through 5.3 lakh fair price shops.
“The integrated scheme will strengthen the provisions of NFSA, 2013 in terms of accessibility, affordability and availability of foodgrains for the poor,” a statement said.
The estimated economic cost of foodgrain procurement by FCI, which includes expenses such as minimum support price payment to farmers, procurement, acquisition and distribution costs for rice and wheat, is Rs 36.7/kg and Rs 25.8/kg respectively, in 2022-23. The annual cost to the exchequer for providing free grains under NFSA is estimated at Rs 2 trillion for FY24.