 "Foodgrains")
The central government on Wednesday extended its free foodgrain scheme for the poor by another three months, till December, ahead of major festivals and elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
The latest extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which was launched in April 2020 during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, will cost the exchequer Rs 44,762 crore over and above the budgeted food subsidy for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said. The overall expenditure on the scheme would be about Rs 3.9 trillion, he added. Under the PMGKAY,
