More than 4.5 lakh MT foodgrains provided to beneficiaries under first, second phase of PM-Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is on a one-day visit to Haryana, on Friday said that more than 4.5 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains were provided to beneficiaries in the first and second phase of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Her remarks came during an interaction with industry bodies, corporate professionals and social sector representatives as part of the 'Seva Aur Samarpan Abhiyan' in Panchkula, Haryana.

"Under the first and second phase (April-November 2020) of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, more than 4.5 lakh MT of foodgrains was provided to over 1.11 crore beneficiaries and 18,812 MT of pulses/chana to 27.27 lakh beneficiaries in Haryana," said Sitharaman.

Sitharaman added, "Under the third phase, 56,891 MT of foodgrains was provided to 1.13 crore beneficiaries in May 2021, 56,581 MT to 1.13 crore in June, 56,408 MT to 1.12 crore in July, 56,596 MT to 1.13 crore in August and 14,278 MT have been provided to 28.55 lakh beneficiaries in September (as on September 16)."

Earlier today, Sitharaman met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, at his residence in Haryana. Following this, she visited a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Sector 17, Panchkula. She was accompanied by Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij.

Under this scheme, the government decided to allocate free-of-cost food grains at 5 kilograms per person per month to nearly 80 crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

This allocation would be over and above NFSA foodgrains for the next two months i.e. May and June 2021 on the same pattern as the earlier "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY)".

( With inputs from ANI )