States lift 39% of 3.96 mn tonnes grains under PMGKAY-3 in first 10 days

But they have distributed less than three per cent so far, data provided by the food ministry showed

State governments have lifted about 39 per cent of the allocated 3.96 million tonnes of extra free foodgrains in the first 10 days of May 2021, under the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). However, they have distributed less than three per cent so far, data provided by the food ministry showed.

So far, around 20.3 million of the estimated over 790 million beneficiaries have been provided extra foodgrains for free during the month of May, over and above their usual entitlement of 5 kilograms of subsidised cereals per person per month under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). (see table)

Thirteen states and Union Territories (UTs), including Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Maharashtra have started free extra foodgrains distribution under PMGKAY-3.

Detailing the steps being taken by the Centre to ameliorate the condition of poor during the second Covid-19 wave, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said today that alongside free extra grains, the government has also decided to continue with a scheme to provide wheat and rice below their economic cost for open market sale.

Grains will be available at a subsidised rate for states and welfare institutions as well, to enable them to cover even those beneficiaries who aren’t NFSA ration card holders.

“The problem of migrants is not as acute this year as it was last year, as there is no nationwide lockdown. Then too, we have provided cereals at cheaper rates for states, NGOs, charitable institutions, small traders etc. for sale to those outside the NFSA ambit or those who are covered under state government schemes etc,” Pandey told reporters.

He said two schemes are running for such beneficiaries. One is the Open Market Sale Scheme for domestic consumers in which FAQ wheat for 2020-21 crop year is being sold at Rs 2,150 per quintal, while rice is being sold at Rs 2,000. Under the other scheme, states, NGOs etc are being provided subsidised wheat at Rs 21 per kg and rice at Rs 22, for sale through their outlets and delivery points.

Meanwhile, under the third phase of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, 5 kg of extra free foodgrains are being distributed per person per month during May and June in view of widespread distress due to the second wave of Covid-19.

The scheme, which was relaunched on April 26, has been modelled on the lines of the earlier two phases of PMGKAY.

In the first two phases of PMGKAY launched in April 2020 during the nationwide lockdown first for three months and then extended by another five months around 30.48 million tonnes of cereals were distributed through the ration shops free of cost over and above the normal PDS allotment.

Meanwhile, on the ongoing wheat procurement, the food secretary said that the Centre has managed to create an additional 16 million tonnes of storage space this year by increasing the stack size of bags without any additional construction.

“This will also mean that perhaps for the first time in the current wheat procurement season, we won’t have any grain kept under Covered-Area Plinth (CAP) and all the purchases will be under covered storages,” Pandey said.

He said that so far till May 9, around 34 million tonnes of wheat has been procured from farmers this year, as against 25 million tonnes during the same period last year.

A sum of around Rs 50,000 crore has been transferred by way of MSP directly into the bank account of farmers of which around Rs 33,372 crore pertains to farmers of Punjab and Haryana alone.

Direct payment of MSP has been introduced for the first time in Punjab and Haryana from the current wheat procurement season.

“We are confident of reaching the wheat procurement target this year as operations will continue till middle of June in Madhya Pradesh and some other parts of the country,” Pandey said.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) chairman, Atish Chandra, who was also present in the press briefing said that evacuation of wheat and paddy procured from Punjab and Haryana from previous years will pick up pace in the next three months and so far 1.2 million tonnes of wheat and just around 40,000 tonnes of rice from 2018-19 season is still left to be evacuated from Punjab.

The Centre believes that retail prices of edible oils would soften following the release of imported stock stuck at ports due to clearance issues. Government data shows that retail prices of edible oils have shot up by 55.55 per cent in over a year and are adding to the woes of consumers already reeling under the economic distress caused by Covid-19. The government also feels the sugar industry will be able to reach the quota of six million tonnes of exports by June 2021 as 5.9 million has been contracted already.