Free ration helping lakhs of poor amid coronavirus pandemic: PM Narendra Modi

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) is helping lakhs of poor people during the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on August 3.

Free ration is being distributed to lakhs of families under the scheme and it has helped lessen the worries of poor during the pandemic, Modi said, during a virtual interaction with beneficiaries of the food security scheme.

The government is making efforts to provide all possible help to citizens during the pandemic, he said. Since Independence, almost every government talked about providing cheap food to the poor, he said.

“The reach of cheap ration schemes and budget increased during these years, but the effect remained limited. Food storage kept increasing, but starvation and malnutrition did not decrease in that ratio," Modi said.