Delhi cabinet decides to extend distribution of free ration till May next year

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the Delhi government has decided to extend the distribution of free ration in the city by six months till May 31, 2022. The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting on Monday.

“We have started distributing free ration since the outbreak of coronavirus. The time period of this scheme has expired, so it is being extended for another six months. The cabinet today decided that free ration distribution will continue till May 31 next year, Kejriwal said in a virtual press conference. The scheme ended on 30 November.

The Delhi government distributes free ration to the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). The city has over 2,000 fair price shops, 17.77 lakh ration card holders and around 72.78 lakh beneficiaries.

They are given free ration in addition to subsidized food grains to be distributed through ration shops. PMGKAY was launched in March last year to address the crisis caused by COVID-19. Initially, the scheme was launched for April-June last year, but was later extended till November 30. In November this year, Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey had said that the Center has no proposal to extend free ration distribution through PMGKAY beyond November. 30.