New Delhi, Aug 4,2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that more than 80 crore people are getting free ration during the pandemic with an expenditure of more than 2 lakh crore rupees.
‘The world has acknowledged the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Free ration has been made available to more than 80 crore people during the pandemic with an expenditure of more than 2 lakh crore rupees,’ the Prime Minister said while interacting with beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana in Gujarat today via video conferencing.
A public participation programme was launched in the state to create further awareness about the scheme.
Addressing the event, the Prime Minister said lakhs of families in Gujarat are getting free ration
under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
This free rations reduces distress for the poor and gives them confidence, he said.
The Prime Minister said the poor should feel that whatever might be the calamity, the country is with him.
Mr Modi pointed out that after independence, almost every government talked about providing
cheap food to the poor.
He said the scope and budget of cheap ration schemes increased year after year, but the effect it should have had remained limited.
‘The country’s food stocks kept increasing, but starvation and malnutrition did not decrease in that proportion. One major reason for this was the lack of an effective delivery system. To change this situation work was started afresh after 2014,’ Mr Modi said.
He said, using new technology, crores of fake beneficiaries were weeded out of the system and ration cards were linked to Aadhar cards.
This helped in ensuring that no citizen went hungry despite the biggest calamity of the century when livelihood were threatened and business suffered due to lockdown, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said today, in addition to the quota of wheat at Rs 2/kg, rice at Rs 3/kg, 5 kg of wheat and rice is being given free to every beneficiary.
‘That is, almost double the amount of ration is being provided to the ration card holders than before this scheme started. This scheme is going to continue till Diwali. No poor will sleep hungry,’ the Prime Minister said.
