What is the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana?

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The central government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana on the 26th of March 2020, in order to provide aid to the underprivileged citizens during the 21-day lockdown imposed during the covid-19 pandemic.

The Press Conference was addressed by the Finance Minister of India, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, where mentioned various schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Kalyan Yojana. For the successful implementation of the scheme, the government allocated a total amount of 1.70 crores.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was launched in order to provide relief to underprivileged families. Under the scheme, five kgs of wheat or rice per person and one kg of pulses free per family, will be given on the basis of members that are recorded in the ration card for April, May and June 2020.

Free ration and grain quota

The free 5 kg of food grain was declared in addition to the quota of foodgrains on the ration card. Moreover, the government extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till Diwali and Chhath Puja 2020.

Eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the applicant needs to fulfil the following criteria:

  1. The families that belong to the below poverty line, Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Households categories
  2. Households that are headed by widows or terminally ill people or disabled persons or persons that are aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support
  3. PHH is needed to identify by the state government/unit territory administration as per the criteria relevant to them. AAY families are to be identified by the state or union territories as per the criteria given by the central government
  4. Terminally ill persons or widows or disabled persons or persons aged more than 60 years or single women or single men with no family or societal support assured means of subsistence
  5. Primitive tribal households
  6.  agricultural labourers with no land, marginal farmers, rural craftsmen or artisans like tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers and persons earning their livelihood on a daily basis in the informal sector like coolies, porters, hand cart pullers, rickshaw pullers, snake charmers, flower and fruit sellers, cobblers, rag pickers, destitute, and other similar categories in both urban as well as rural areas.
  7. All eligible below poverty line households of HIV positive persons

Benefits

About more than 81.35 crore people have already been provided 5 kgs of free wheat or rice per person monthly along with 1 kg of the whole channa to each family per month. The wheat has been allocated to 6 states or union territories like Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat. Rice has been allocated to the remaining states and union territories. This is over and beyond the regular monthly entitlements under National Food Security Act, 2013.

Purpose

The objective behind the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana reduces the stress that has been caused by the covid-19 pandemic. Initially, the scheme was launched for the period of April to June 2020, but later was extended to November 30th. Then, the scheme was further extended till March 2022.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the government has already provided free ration to 80 crore ration cardholders that have been identified under the National Food Security Act. The free ration cardholders are given the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana scheme ration along with the subsidised food grains they get through the ration shop.

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