Top Stories

PMGKAY Scheme: Giving free ration to the poor may increase the burden on the government, there is a possibility of closure of the scheme after September

June 25, 2022
Bharat Times

hear the news

Now the government does not have money for the free ration scheme started at the time of Corona. In such a situation, it is feared that it may be closed after September. The Department of Expenditure of the Finance Ministry has said in its internal report that if the scheme is extended beyond September, the burden will increase. Also, if any kind of relief is given on tax, then it can also have a bad effect on the financial health of the government.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), 80 crore people in the country are given free ration. The Department of Expenditure has said that the financial situation has become critical due to the decisions of extending the timing of this scheme, reducing the excise duty on petrol and diesel and reducing the custom duty on edible oils.

The burden may increase by Rs 80,000 crore
The Finance Ministry has estimated in its report that if the scheme is extended after September, there will be an additional burden of Rs 80,000 crore. That is, the food subsidy bill will cross Rs 3.7 lakh crore. Along with this, the department has advised that neither this scheme should be carried forward nor any relief on tax should be given.

one lakh crore loss
Last month, the government reduced the tax on petrol and diesel, it is estimated that there will be a loss of one lakh crore rupees. In the budget for the current financial year, the target of keeping the physical deficit to GDP ratio was fixed at 6.4 percent. Fitch Ratings said this could increase to 6.8 per cent with subsidies and tax relief.

The plan was extended for 6 months
The central government extended this scheme for 6 months in March. Its term will end in September. For this, Rs 2.07 lakh crore was proposed for food subsidy in this year’s budget, which was about Rs 79 thousand crore less than the Rs 2.86 lakh crore in 2021-22. However, by increasing the scheme of free ration by 6 months, the food subsidy bill is expected to go up to Rs 2.87 lakh crore.

Expansion

Now the government does not have money for the free ration scheme started at the time of Corona. In such a situation, it is feared that it may be closed after September. The Department of Expenditure of the Finance Ministry has said in its internal report that if the scheme is extended beyond September, the burden will increase. Also, if any kind of relief is given on tax, then it can also have a bad effect on the financial health of the government.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), 80 crore people in the country are given free ration. The Department of Expenditure has said that the financial situation has become critical due to the decisions of extending the timing of this scheme, reducing the excise duty on petrol and diesel and reducing the custom duty on edible oils.

The burden may increase by Rs 80,000 crore

The Finance Ministry has estimated in its report that if the scheme is extended after September, there will be an additional burden of Rs 80,000 crore. That is, the food subsidy bill will cross Rs 3.7 lakh crore. Along with this, the department has advised that neither this scheme should be carried forward nor any relief on tax should be given.

one lakh crore loss

Last month, the government reduced the tax on petrol and diesel, it is estimated that there will be a loss of one lakh crore rupees. In the budget for the current financial year, the target of keeping the physical deficit to GDP ratio was fixed at 6.4 percent. Fitch Ratings said this could increase to 6.8 per cent with subsidies and tax relief.

The plan was extended for 6 months

The central government extended this scheme for 6 months in March. Its term will end in September. For this, Rs 2.07 lakh crore was proposed for food subsidy in this year’s budget, which was about Rs 79 thousand crore less than the Rs 2.86 lakh crore in 2021-22. However, by increasing the scheme of free ration by 6 months, the food subsidy bill is expected to go up to Rs 2.87 lakh crore.