Almost 56.6% Of Food Grains Lifted By States In Fourth Phase Of Food Scheme For Poor

Around 112 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of food grains have been lifted by states out of the total 198 LMT allotted by the government under the fourth phase of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). This means that 56.6 per cent of the total allocated food grains, which consist of wheat and rice, have been lifted till September 15, 2021.

The fourth phase of the scheme is to continue till November 2021 and it had begun in July 2021.

The government has till date allotted 600 LMT of food grains under PMGKAY in all its four phases.

Under the scheme, the government had started allotting food grains to the poor in April 2020, soon after the nation-wide lockdown had been imposed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the first phase of the scheme, i.e. between April and June 2020, 97 per cent of the total allotted food grains had been lifted by states.

During the second phase which had continued between July-November 2020, 93 per cent of allocated food grains had been lifted, while in the third phase (between May-June 2021), 98 per cent of food grains had been lifted by states.

Against the total allocation provided under the scheme in all four phases, 82.76 per cent of lifting of food grains has been done till September 15, 2021, a statement issued by the Agriculture Ministry said.