Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana extended till November, says PM Narendra Modi
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PM Modi said that Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana expanded till November. It will benefit around 80 crore people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the nation, his sixth such televised address since the outbreak of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
"In comparison to other countries across the globe, India is still in a very stable situation in the battle against Covid-19. Timely decisions and measures have played a great role," PM Modi said.
#LIVE | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) addresses the nation https://t.co/2ivFA3jRxR
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Prime Minister extended the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojna till November 30 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the scheme, over 80 crore people are entitled to free five kilos of free wheat or rice, and an additional one kilo of anyone pulse per family. The scheme was launched in March after the imposition of lockdown to ensure that loss of livelihoods and restriction on movement should not compound the issue of hunger amongst India's poorest.
"We are planning to bring 'One Nation, One Ration Card'. Now a ration card is also being arranged for the whole of India. The biggest benefit of this will be to those poor colleagues who leave their village and go elsewhere for employment or other needs," announced PM Modi.
"In the last three months, Rs 31,000 crore have been deposited directly into Jan Dhan accounts of 20 crore poor families. During this time, 18 thousand crore rupees have been deposited in the bank accounts of more than 9 crore farmers," the PM said.
India is at a very crucial phase in its fight against COVID-19 and on Tuesday the tally rose to 5, 66,840. The death toll rose to 16,893 with 418 ore persons succumbing to the virus.