Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation today said that the Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended up to November this year where as many as 80 crore Indians will get free ration. With this, the total amount set aside for the scheme will be over Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
In his address to the nation, PM Modi said that despite the number of rising coronavirus cases, India is still in a very stable situation due to timely interventions by the government. However, he also said that ever since Unlock 1.0 started in the country, negligence in personal and social behaviour has been increasing.
“Since Unlock 1.0, we have seen an increase in irresponsible behaviour. We used to be careful about wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining social distancing. But now when we need to be more careful, many are being irresponsible,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi urged the governments, local body entities, citizens of the country to show the same vigilance once again that they had displayed when the country was under the lockdown to tame the spread of coronavirus.
PM Modi asked the citizens to exercise extra caution to ward off the threat of coronavirus, given that the country is entering the season where cases of cold, cough, fever and other diseases register a sharp uptick.
Speaking about the government’s efforts to help the poor and the needy ones adversely affected by the coronavirus induced lockdown, PM Modi said that about 30 crore poor people with Jan Dhan Accounts have been given Rs 31 thousand crores in the last 3 months. He added more than 9 crore farmers have received Rs 18 thousand crores as financial aid from the central government. About 80 crore Indians got free ration, PM Modi said.
Furthermore, keeping in view the upcoming festivities, the government has decided to extend the PM Gareeb Kayan Anna Yojana till the end of November, said PM Modi adding that Rs 90,000 crore have been earmarked by the government to provide free ration to the poor. This is in addition to the amount already spent, taking total figure to Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
