Food security in India and PMGKAY-
✅Public rice and wheat stocks, at just over 60 million tonnes recently, are at a 5-year-low and 2/3rd of their level a year ago
✅Yet, the govt. has extended its free-grain Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme for another 3 months till December.
● India’s food reserves and PMGKAY:
✓2021-22 (April-March) – 105.6 million tonnes (mt)grain was channeled through the PDS, of which 41.7 mt was under PMGKAY.
✓The PDS turned out to be the only effective social safety net during the pandemic.
✓Also provided an opportunity for disposing of the excess grain lying in government warehouses.
● Impact on food reserves of such schemes:
✓The godowns are no longer overflowing.
✓There is no logic in continuing with supplying free grain when economic activity has resumed to near-normal levels
