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What's the article about?
It discusses the Union government's decision to discontinue the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKY) and instead provide additional free allocations of foodgrains to beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Relevance:
- GS2: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health;
- GS3: Public Distribution System – Objectives, Functioning, Limitations, Revamping; Issues of Buffer Stocks and Food Security;
- Prelims
Context:
- The Government has decided not to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, (PMGKY)
- It was introduced by the government during the first nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 in March 2020.
- Under this scheme, the center provided 5kg of free food grains i.e., rice or wheat per month to the poor.
- This is in addition to the subsidized (Rs 2-3 per kg) ration provided under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to families covered under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
- Now, instead of PMGKY, will bear the expenses of food grains under the NFSA for 2023 and ensure free ration under the Act for the estimated 81.35 crore beneficiaries for that year.
- By taking on the burden of the expenditure for this distribution, the Union government, which has estimated an additional amount of ₹2 lakh crore for the scheme, has provided limited but welcome relief in monetary terms for States.
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National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013:
Public distribution system (PDS):
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The importance of schemes such as PMGKY and PDS in ensuring food security and alleviating poverty in India:
- PMGKY absorbed the shock of the pandemic for the extreme poor.
- They have not only enabled basic food security but have also acted as income transfers for the poor by allowing them to buy other commodities that they could not have afforded if not for the benefits.
- helped the Government to control its food buffer stocks better
reduced wastage of procured food grains by the Food Corporation of India.
Way Forward:
- As the data used for selecting the beneficiaries for these schemes is based on the 2011 census, it has an exclusion problem.
- Furthermore it is also debated whether the benefits really reached the “poorest of the poor” of the society.
- The more robust solution could be a universalisation of the PDS, which has already worked well in a few States such as Tamil Nadu, as the scheme would be availed by anyone in need instead of a flawed targeting system.
