In keeping with the concern and sensitivity towards poor and vulnerable sections of society, the Centre had extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme for another six months till September 2022 in March. However, another extension would be a hard call for the government.
It may be recalled that the PM-GKAY has been under implementation since April 2020, as the largest food security program in the world.
The exhausting stocks of wheat and rice and the likely huge subsidy burden could pose a huge challenge in front of the government in extending the free food grain scheme any further. According to sources quoted by ToI, while the Centre can tackle the subsidy issue, it won’t be possible to get enough food grain to meet the buffer stock norms.
If the PMGKAY scheme is extended till March 2023, the overall rice stock in the central pool may even go below the buffer norm by 22 lakh tonne, according to officials. The buffer stock norm includes operational stocks and strategic reserves. Further, estimates also signal that such an extension may cost around Rs 90,000 crore to the exchequer in the form of subsidy.
Officials are of the view that the estimated rice stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as on April 1, 2023, would be around 114 lakh tonne against the buffer norm of 136 lakh tonne, if the free food grain is extended. The wheat stock may fall to 90 lakh tonne against the buffer of 74 lakh tonne on April 1 likewise.
It is worth mentioning here that this year marked the lowest-ever procurement of wheat. The wheat stock in the central pool stood at 285 lakh tonne as on July 1 against the buffer stock norm of 275 lakh tonne. Rice stock, on the other hand, with the FCI was 315 lakh tonne on July 1 against the buffer norm of 135 lakh tonne.
Meanwhile, the PMGKAY extension till September end entitles nearly 80 crore people to get 5 kg of food grain every month free of cost. The Government spent approximately Rs 2.60 lakh crore till March 2022 and stated that another Rs 80,000 crore will be spent till September 2022 taking the total expenditure under the scheme to nearly Rs 3.40 lakh crore.
