PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana: More than 80 crore people getting food grains free of cost, says Centre

More than 80 crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) beneficiaries are getting the benefits of free food grains across the country, Central government today the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Sharing state-wise data of PMGKAY, Minister of State for Rural Development and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said that a total of 8,049.94 lakh people are getting benefits of PMGKAY, as of January 31, 2024.

As per the data, these beneficiaries belong to 237.31 lakh families across the country with a maximum of 40.88 lakh families from Uttar Pradesh, 25.5 lakh from Maharashtra, 25.1 lakh from Bihar, 18.64 lahks from Tamil Nadu, 16.42 lakh from West Bengal, 14.63 lakh from Madhya Pradesh, 11.54 lakh from Odisha, 10.97 lakh from Karnataka, 9.08 lakh from Andhra Pradesh, 8.94 lakh from Jharkhand, 7.73 lakh from Gujarat, 7.19 lakh from Chhattisgarh, 6.92 lakh from Assam, 6.29 lakh from Rajasthan, 5.96 lakh from Kerala, 5.67 lakh from Telangana, 2.68 lakh from Haryana, 2.33 lakh from Jammu and Kashmir, and 1.82 lakh families from Himachal Pradesh, among others.

Of the total beneficiaries, 1505.19 lakh people belong to Uttar Pradesh followed by 871.16 lakh from Bihar, 700.17 lakh from Maharashtra, 601.84 lakh from West Bengal, 534.79 lakh from Madhya Pradesh, 440.01 lakh from Rajasthan, 401.93 lakh from Karnataka, 364.12 lakh from Tamil Nadu, 351.60 lah from Gujarat, 325.98 lakh from Odisha, 268.22 lakh from Andhra Pradesh, 264.19 lakh from Jharkhand, 251.17 lakh from Assam, 200.77 lakh from Chhattisgarh, 191.62 lakh from Telangana, 154.80 lakh from Kerala, 141.45 lakh from Punjab, 126.49 lakh from Haryana, 72.78 from Delhi, 72.41 lakh from Jammu and Kashmir, and 61.94 lakh from Uttarakhand, among others.

Replying to the queries of Independent MP Kartikeya Sharma in writing, the MoS said under Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms, ration cards and beneficiaries database have been completely digitized in all States and the Union Territories, transparency portal and online grievance redressal facility and toll-free number have been implemented in all states and UTs.

"Further online allocation has been implemented in all states and UTs (except UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry which have adopted Direct Benefit Transfer and Cash Transfer scheme) and supply chain has been computerized in 31 states and UTs," said the Minister.

Presently, she said, 99.8 per cent of ration cards are seeded with an Aadhaar number at the national level and almost all FPSs have been automated by the installation of e-PoS devices for the distribution of food grains in a transparent manner (electronically) through biometric and Aadhaar authentication of PMGKAY beneficiaries.