• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) has been extended by Centre government by 5 years till 2028.

ABOUT PMGKAY

• Introduced in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the PMGKAY was launched with the aim of providing 5 kg of free foodgrains to eligible ration card holders under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• The scheme was slated to be in place up until December 2023, but has been extended again now for another five years.
• The PMGKAY covers two types of ration card holders under the NFSA—those falling under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH), both of which were integrated with the PMGKAY in January 2023.
• While AAY and PHH beneficiaries were entitled to 35 kg of free foodgrains (regardless of the number of family members) and 5 kg of free foodgrain for each family member respectively, the PMGKAY, when it was launched, offered free rations in addition to the aforementioned allotments.
• Identification of beneficiaries
  • PHH are to be identified by State Governments/Union Territory Administrations as per criteria evolved by them.
  • AAY families are to be identified by States/UTs as per the criteria prescribed by the Central Government.
• As of January 2023, there were over 81.35 crore beneficiaries of the PMGKAY scheme, equivalent to over two-thirds of India’s population.