75% of food security Act beneficiaries get grains via PM yojna

NEW DELHI: Three out of every four persons covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) received five kg free rice or wheat for April under the new scheme launched by the Modi government to ensure those enrolled are buffered against the impact of the national lockdown.
According to official data, 60.3 crore out of the 81.3 crore beneficiaries under NFSA received the foodgrains for free in April and nearly 15% of the beneficiaries have received the second instalment for May so far. Under the PM Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojna (PMGKAY), every NFSA beneficiary is entitled to get five kg grain per month for April, May and June and the Aadhaar-based authentication system is seen to have delivered results.
In 26 states and UTs, the distribution of free grain has so far been more than 90% for the month of April. In a series of tweets, Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the distribution of free foodgrain is being accelerated “to ensure none is left hungry during the crisis”.
But there is concern over slow progress in distribution of one kilogram of free pulses to each family per month under the PMGKAY. So far about 22% of the total identified families have received it. “Pulses have been distributed so far to 5.21 crore household beneficiaries out of 19.4 crore such beneficiaries,” an official statement said.
Sources said in case of the remaining 10 states and UTs, the official coverage of distribution is less because of several reasons. They said some states such as Jharkhand and Punjab don’t follow monthly distribution of foodgrains under NFSA and give advance disbursal for three or six months. Hence the grains that they have stocked under PMKAY would be distributed during the next round.
“That’s why you will see Punjab has 0% distribution of grains under NFSA for April and 1% under PMGKAY,” said a source. He added in the case of Delhi where the distribution under PMGKAY is also 0% is due to two factors. First, the city government had received rice under PMGKAY. “But they said they want wheat and that requirement has been made. Now they have lifted wheat and have assured quick distribution of the grain for free. There is also some minor delay,” the source said.
In the case of Madhya Pradesh, the distribution coverage is only 48% due to reasons that include high number of Covid hotspots where stricter compliance of social distancing at ration shops is required though more inquiries are being made. However, some states such as West Bengal where the coverage is 34%, have acted little late, sources said.
Meanwhile, the encouraging trend is that till Wednesday 6.8 million tonnes out of total allocation of 12 million tonnes under this scheme have been lifted by 36 states and UTs. Five states and UTs have completed lifting grains for April, May and June while 18 have lifted grains for April and May. The rest have lifted the grains only for April.
Sources said it will pick up this month as states have got the stock. “The pulses will be distributed when beneficiaries come to fair price shops to get the foodgrain,” an official said.