Free ration for poor till Nov end: PM

Srinagar:Making a big pro-poor announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said PM Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended till November end, benefitting 80 crore families.
”PM Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended till the end of November, and extension will cost over Rs 90 thousand crore,” said the Prime Minister in his televised address to the nation.
Mr Modi said due festivals increase the needs and the expenses as well.
”Keeping these things in mind, it has been decided that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana would now be extended till Diwali and Chhath Puja, that is, by the end of November,” Mr Modi said.
He maintained that timely lockdown and other decisions have saved the lives of millions of people in India.
”We will take economic activities further by taking all precautions. We will all be ‘vocal for local’. With this resolve, we, the 130 crore countrymen, have to work together with the resolution and also move forward,” he stressed.
Mr Modi maintained that be it the central government, state governments, civil society people, everyone has made every effort that none of the poor goes hungry in such a big country.
”Ever since Unlock-One has happened in the country, negligence in personal and social behavior is also increasing. Earlier, we were very cautious about wearing masks, two yards distance, washing hands several times a day for 20 seconds,” he said, adding that ”We are now entering Unlock-Two, while fighting against the Corona global epidemic.”
He said that in the last three months, Rs 31,000 crore have been deposited directly into Jan Dhan accounts of 20 crore poor families.
During this time, Rs 18,000 crore have been deposited in the bank accounts of more than 9 crore farmers, Mr Modi informed.
”In a way, our government has given free food grains to two-and-a-half times more people than the total population of America, 12 times more than the population of Britain, and more than twice the population of the European Union,” he elaborated.
Mr Modi said now a ration card is also being arranged for the whole of India, ‘one nation one ration card’. The biggest beneficiary of this will be the poor who leave their village and go elsewhere for employment or other needs, he pointed out.
On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the guidelines for Unlock 2.