Withdrawing PMGKAY a regressive step, it cuts the foodgrain entitlement by half’

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated01/01/2023

Withdrawing the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), is a regressive step and will force poor families to spend ₹750-₹900 a month to access the current level of ration entitlement, Right to Food Campaign, a collective of countrywide organisations working in the sector, said in a statement here.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana: Under this scheme an extra 5 kg of free foodgrains was provided to every ration card holder in addition to the entitlement under the National Food Security Act.

Under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), all priority category ration card holders are entitled to 5 kg of grain per person and the Antyodaya category cardholders to 35 kg of grain.
The NFSA caps the price at ₹3 per kg of rice and ₹2 per kg of wheat.
In April 2020, the Union government announced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), under which an extra 5 kg of free foodgrains was provided to every ration card holder in addition to the NFSA entitlement.
Therefore, ration card holders were entitled to 10 kg ration per person.

On December 23, the Union government announced that it would discontinue the PMGKAY from January 1, 2023.
The government has termed this as a ‘historic’ decision even though in reality it in no way compensates for the huge reduction in the ration entitlement.

As per calculations, the net saving per person as a result of the announcement of the NFSA ration being made free will be only around ₹11 per month (4 kg of wheat X ₹2 and 1 kg of rice X ₹3) whereas in order to purchase the additional 5 kg of grain which has now been discontinued (under PMGKAY), that person will have to spend between ₹150-₹175 as rice and wheat cost around ₹30-₹35 per kg in the market.
A family of five will now be forced to spend ₹750-₹900 per month just in order to access the current level of ration entitlement.