PremiumIf state action prevents people from working, then, as a matter of principle, it’s also the govt’s duty to ensure that nobody starves. It makes eminent sense to give foodgrain away to those in need. So long as our crisis persists, these giveaways must continue
Apart from his declaration that the Centre will take back control of India’s vaccination effort, a notable announcement in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Monday was an extension of the free provision of food for the poor. The government’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, a foodgrain-and-pulses hand-out scheme, for which an estimated 800 million Indians are eligible, will now run till the end of November, five months longer than earlier planned.
This relief was much-needed. Though 2021 has not seen the kind of misery we witnessed after last year’s lockdown, when hapless migrant workers in our cities decided to walk hundreds of kilometres back to their rural homes just for daily sustenance, the country’s vulnerable have had it difficult to earn their livelihoods and keeping themselves adequately fed under assorted covid restrictions. If state action prevents people from working, then, as a matter of principle, it’s also the government’s duty to ensure that nobody starves. Thankfully, Indian granaries have been overflowing. It makes eminent sense to give foodgrain away to those in need. So long as our crisis persists, these giveaways must continue
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