Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is a food security welfare scheme announced by the Government of India in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The program is operated by the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
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Key-Points
The scheme aims to feed the poorest citizens of India by providing grain through the Public Distribution System, to all the priority households.
PMGKAY provides 5 kg of rice or wheat per person and 1 kg of dal to each family holding a ration card.
The scale of this welfare scheme makes it the largest food security program in the world.
The scheme was initially launched on 26 March 2020 with an announcement by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who announced the program as part of the existing Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana welfare initiative in his first address to the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initially, the scheme was launched for the period from April—June 2020, with a cost of ₹1.70 lakh crore (US$24 billion) to the exchequer.
The scheme was further extended to November 2020 in a later address to the nation by Modi. By the end of May 2020, the food ministry estimated that the program had reached 740 million beneficiaries.