On Sunday, the first day of the New Year 2023, the updated food security program mandated by the National Food Security Act will go into force, providing 5 kg of free food grain each month to 81.3 crore individuals across the country.
The general managers of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have been instructed by the government to “assess and report” by visiting three ration stores each day for the first week. They are required to submit reports every day.
The cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal to completely liberate the NFSA foodgrain entitlement for the needy in 2023. The administration also canceled the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna with this move, which was launched in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020. The food ministry reports that on Friday, Sanjeev Chopra, the union’s food secretary, met with each state’s food secretary to go over the distribution of free foodgrains and any technological issues.
The government has also told states and UTs how to pay dealers’ margins (owners of ration stores) for giving beneficiaries food.
The PMGKAY became more well-known after the epidemic, when an estimated 60 million migrant workers returned to their home states. After beginning in 2020 and being frequently extended, it continued for 28 months despite being stopped for six months. A cabinet memo states that an estimate of the total cost of PMGKAY from the time of its launch to December 2022 is 3.91 lakh crore.