New Delhi: In a pro-poor announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on Tuesday, extended the free foodgrain scheme to 80 crore poor families to avail the five kg free foodgrains till November-end. In a televised address to the nation, Mr Modi said the Government will keep providing free foodgrains to the poor section of the society, due to the increased need during the festivals. He said the Government will incur an additional expenditure of Rs 90,000 crore to provide five kg rice or wheat and one kg gram every month to the poor, pointing out that the free distribution of foodgrains to 80 crore people in India could feed 2.5 times the US population, 12 times the UK population and, twice the European Union''s population.
In his sixth address to the nation since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Prime Minister said under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, the Centre announced a package of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. In the past three months, Rs 31,000 crore was deposited in bank accounts of 20 crore poor families. Also, Rs 18,000 crore was deposited in bank accounts of more than nine crore farmers, he added. ''''Simultaneously, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan was quickly launched to provide employment of labourers in rural areas. The Government is spending Rs 50,000 crore on this scheme,'''' Mr Modi added. He also urged the citizens not to let their guard down as restrictions were being lifted across the country.
He said nobody is above the law and rules must be followed by everyone, in order to beat the virus. ''''A timely lockdown and other decisions helped saved lakhs of lives in the country,'''' he added.
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