The Centre may extend various social benefits to poor households under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to the end of the current fiscal year in March 2021, in a continued extension of the safety net to the vulnerable from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
The extension is likely to apply to both cash and in-kind benefits such as foodgrains, reported LiveMint. The government had initially announced these measures to run to June, and then extended them to the end of November.
“The fresh measures will be a mix of demand stimulus and social safety measures," a senior government official told the paper on condition of anonymity.
Under the scheme, the government is providing 81 crore individuals 5 kg of rice or wheat and 1 kg of chana every month.
The fresh stimulus may also include cash transfers to 20 crore Jan Dhan accounts and 3 crore poor senior citizens, poor widows, and other groups that were part of the PMGKY, the report said.
The announcement is expected to come shortly and may have political consequences ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar and by-elections in 11 other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, the report noted.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on October 19 said the government was exploring a further round of stimulus as the country sinks into negative growth, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
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