Under the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, 824,000 Metric Tonnes of free foodgrains have been provided to the poor across the country with a subsidy outlay of around two lakh 79 thousand crore rupees as of July 31. Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti provided this information in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
In the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19, which started in March 2020, the Minister said the Department had started distributing additional and free-of-cost foodgrains under the scheme to a total of 80 crore beneficiaries. As she explained, this contributed to the amelioration of the hardships experienced by the poor and the needy in terms of food security. This was as a result of the unprecedented outbreak of the pandemic.