Lok Sabha Question No. 1821 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Distribution of Free Ration across the Country
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: P. C. Mohan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1821 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13TH DECEMBER, 2023

## DISTRIBUTION  OF FREE RATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY

1821.  SHRI P.C. MOHAN:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER  AFFAIRS, FOOD  AND  PUBLIC

DiSTRIBUTiON aqqttm qwi8, @r© Bh tIT++f+q f+vwr IHt be pleased to state:

- (a) the number out of 80 crore ration cardholders who received free ration during and after the COVID19 pandemic, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the details of funds reserved and spent for the same, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government intends to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) under which the Government is providing
- free foodgrains to all ration  cardholders;
- (d) if  so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise along with  the details of
- funds reserved for  the same;
- (e) whether the Government is aware that  most of the ration cardholders across the country are unaware that the Government is providing them the
- free foodgrains; and
- (f) the details of steps taken by the Government to inform the public on extending  the  distribution
- of  free  foodgrains  to  all  ration  cardholders across the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SADHVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a) to (d): in  view of  the  pro-poor initiative announced by the

Government of India to ameliorate the hardship faced by the poor due to economic disruption  caused by COVID-19 pandemic, this  Department had implemented Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) in seven (7) phases from April  2020 to  December 2022. This Department had allocated additional free-of-cost foodgrains to all States/UTs for distribution to around 80 Crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries in the country.

Further, post pandemic, in order to  remove the financial  burden of the poor beneficiaries and to ensure nationwide uniformity  and effective implementation of  the  National Food Security Act  (2013), the  Central Government  decided  to  provide  food  grains  free  of  cost  to  Antyodaya Anna  Yojana (AAY) households as  well as  Priority Households (PHH) beneficiariesn Thus under this  scheme free foodgrain is being distributed through Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) from  Ist  January 2023 onwards. The total  number of beneficiaries  Covered under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) is attached  as Annexure-1.

The Phase wise financial  outlay under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana  (PM-GKAY) is at  below:

| PMGKAY                 | Duration           | Financial Outlay (Rs. In Cr.)   |
|------------------------|--------------------|---------------------------------|
| Phase - I (3 months)   | April'20 - June'20 | Rs. 44,834                      |
| Phase - I1 (5 months)  | July'20- Nov''20   | Rs. 68,351                      |
| Phase - III (2 months) | May'21 - June'21   | Rs. 26,602                      |
| Phase . IV (5 months)  | July'21 - Nov.'21  | Rs. 67,266                      |
| Phase - V (4 months)   | Dec'21 - Mar.'22   | Rs. 53,344                      |
| Phase-VI (6 months)    | April'22- Sep'22   | Rs. 85,838                      |
| Phase-VII (3 months)   | Oct'22 - Dec'22    | Rs. 44,763                      |
| Total (28 months)      |                    | Rs. 3.91 Lakh Cr.               |

Further, the  details  of  funds released by this  Department to  DCP States under PMGKAY during COVID-19 Pandemic are attached as Annexure-II  .

Keeping in view the welfare of beneficiaries of PMGKAY in terms of accessibility, affordability and availability of food grains for the poor and to maintain uniformity  across the States, the Government has decided to continue to  provide free food grains to about 81.35 Crore beneficiaries under the PMGKAY for a  period of five years with effect from Ist January, 2024, with  an estimated financial outlay of Rs. 11.80 lakh Crore totally to be borne by Central Government.

Further, it is  stated  that  Ministry of  Finance has  allocated Rs.1,97,000 Crore at  Budget Estimate (BE) stage for the financial year 2023-24 for distribution of food grains under PMGKAY. It is also stated that allocation of funds is not made State.wise. Funds for the subsequent year under PMGKAY will  be allocated in due course of time.

- (e) &  (f)  No such incidence has been reported yet,  however, the Department has taken following  initiatives  for generating awareness and inform the public on extending the distribution of free foodgrains to all ration cardholders across the country.
- iU Pan-India awareness campaigns of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) on TV Channels, FM Channels and social media have been undertaken.
- ii. Inter-department collaboration for  publicity amplification of  PMGKAY for information dissemination on social media has been undertaken.
- iii. Ministry of  Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has installed PMGKAY banners/hoardings at  IOOO fuel  retail outlets.
- iv. More than 6 Crore SMSs have been delivered on mobile nurnbers of beneficiaries and  FPS dealers  across  States/UTs.
- Ve 15  workshops for  awareness generation of  ONORC have been conducted across states/UTs in India

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a)to(d)  OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1821 FOR ANSWER ON 13.12.2023 IN THE LOK SABHA.

| Statement indicating State-Wisenumber of NFSA Beneficiaries Covered under National Food Security Act, 2013 - As on 30.11.2023   | Statement indicating State-Wisenumber of NFSA Beneficiaries Covered under National Food Security Act, 2013 - As on 30.11.2023   | Statement indicating State-Wisenumber of NFSA Beneficiaries Covered under National Food Security Act, 2013 - As on 30.11.2023   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.                                                                                                                          | States/UTs                                                                                                                      | Present Beneficiaries (in lakh Coverage                                                                                         |
|                                                                                                                                 | AndhraPradesh                                                                                                                   | 268.22                                                                                                                          |
| 2                                                                                                                               | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                               | 8.40                                                                                                                            |
| 3                                                                                                                               | Assam                                                                                                                           | 251.17                                                                                                                          |
| 4                                                                                                                               | Bihar                                                                                                                           | 871.16                                                                                                                          |
| 5                                                                                                                               | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                                    | 200.77                                                                                                                          |
| 6                                                                                                                               | Delhi                                                                                                                           | 72.78                                                                                                                           |
| 7                                                                                                                               | Goa                                                                                                                             | 5.32                                                                                                                            |
| 8                                                                                                                               | Gujarat                                                                                                                         | 35 1.60                                                                                                                         |
| 9                                                                                                                               | Haryana                                                                                                                         | 126.49                                                                                                                          |
| 10                                                                                                                              | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                                | 28.64                                                                                                                           |
| 11                                                                                                                              | Jharkhand                                                                                                                       | 264.19                                                                                                                          |
| 12                                                                                                                              | Karnataka                                                                                                                       | 401 .93                                                                                                                         |
| 13                                                                                                                              | Kerala                                                                                                                          | 154.80                                                                                                                          |
| 14                                                                                                                              | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                                  | 534.79                                                                                                                          |
| 15                                                                                                                              | Maharashtra                                                                                                                     | no                                                                                                                              |
| 16                                                                                                                              | Manipur                                                                                                                         | 20.08                                                                                                                           |
| 17                                                                                                                              | Meghalaya                                                                                                                       | 21 .46                                                                                                                          |
| 18                                                                                                                              | Mizoram                                                                                                                         | 6.83                                                                                                                            |
| 19                                                                                                                              | Nagaland                                                                                                                        | 14.05                                                                                                                           |
| 20                                                                                                                              | Odisha                                                                                                                          | 325.03                                                                                                                          |
| 21                                                                                                                              | Punjab                                                                                                                          | 141.51                                                                                                                          |
| 22                                                                                                                              | Rajasthan                                                                                                                       | 440.01                                                                                                                          |
| 23                                                                                                                              | Sikkim                                                                                                                          | 3.81                                                                                                                            |
| 24                                                                                                                              | Tamil Nadu                                                                                                                      | 364.12                                                                                                                          |
| 25                                                                                                                              | Telangana                                                                                                                       | 191.62                                                                                                                          |
| 26                                                                                                                              | Tripura                                                                                                                         | 24.43                                                                                                                           |
| 27                                                                                                                              | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                                   | 1503.77                                                                                                                         |
| 28                                                                                                                              | Uttarakhand                                                                                                                     | 61.94                                                                                                                           |
| 29                                                                                                                              | West Bengal                                                                                                                     | 601.84                                                                                                                          |
| 30                                                                                                                              | A&N                                                                                                                             | 0.61                                                                                                                            |
| 31                                                                                                                              | DNH&DD                                                                                                                          | 2.69                                                                                                                            |
| 32                                                                                                                              | Lakshadweep                                                                                                                     | 0.22                                                                                                                            |
| 33                                                                                                                              | Chandigarh(DBT)                                                                                                                 | 2.99                                                                                                                            |
| 34                                                                                                                              | Puducherry(DBT)                                                                                                                 | 6.34                                                                                                                            |
| 35                                                                                                                              | J&K                                                                                                                             | 72.41                                                                                                                           |
| 36                                                                                                                              | Ladakh                                                                                                                          | 1.44                                                                                                                            |

## Annexure-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a)to(d)  OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1821 FOR ANSWER ON 13.12.2023 IN THE LOK SABHA.

## Details of funds released by DFPD to DCP States under PMGKAY  during  COVID-19 Pandemic

(Rs. in Crores)

| S.N.   | Name of the State   | PMGKAY 2020-21   | PMGKAY 2021-22   | PM(,KAy 2022_23   |   Total fund Ireleased under 1PMGKAY for phase-Ito VII |
|--------|---------------------|------------------|------------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| 1      | 1 AndhraPradesh     | 2764.05          | 3248.92          | 1027.02           |                                                7039.99 |
| 2      | iBihar              | 737.37           | 2773.64          | 5443.15           |                                                8954.16 |
| 3      | lchhattisgarh       | 2367.03          | 2438.53          | 2923.43           |                                                7728.99 |
| 4      | IGujarat            |                  | 7.13             | 22.34             |                                                  29.47 |
| 5      | IMadhya Pradesh     | 3202.55          | 5084.52          | 5181.35           |                                               13468.4  |
| 6      | IMaharashtra        | 981.60           | 870.45           | 1298.51           |                                                3150.56 |
|        | Odisha              | 2964.20          | 2670.98          | 2422.25           |                                                8057.43 |
|        | Punjab              | 63.06            |                  |                   |                                                  63.06 |
| 9      | ITelangana          | 2357.64          | 1296.51          | 2551.87           |                                                6206.02 |
| 10     | IUttarakhand        | 492.97           | 301.29           | 434.92            |                                                1229.18 |
| 11     | ITamit Nadu         |                  |                  | 139.07            |                                                 139.07 |
| 12     | jwest Bengal        |                  |                  | 1695.28           |                                                1695.28 |
|        | Total               | 9                |                  | 23139.19          |                                               57761.6  |