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Central government to spend more than Rs 2 lakh crore in 2023 as food subsidy under NFSA and other welfare schemes
The Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved new integrated food security scheme for providing free food grains to Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) & Primary Household (PHH) beneficiaries, to be rolled out from 1st January 2023. New scheme has been named as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY). Implementation of the new scheme has started from 1st January 2023, benefitting more than 80 crore poor and poorest of poor people.
Keeping in view welfare of the beneficiaries and in order to maintain uniformity across the States, free food grains will be provided under PMGKAY for the year 2023 to all PHH and AAY beneficiaries, as per entitlement under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The integrated scheme will strengthen the provisions of NFSA, 2013 in terms of accessibility, affordability and availability of food grains for the poor.
For effective and uniform implementation of NFSA 2013, PMGKAY will subsume the two subsidy schemes of Department of Food & Public Distribution (a) Food Subsidy to Food Corporation of India (FCI) (b) Food Subsidy for decentralised procurement states dealing with procurement, allocation and delivery of free food grains to the states under NFSA.
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