Editor's Pick: The benefits of free ration

The Central government has decided to extend for 6 more months the free ration scheme that was introduced in April 2020, in the early months of the pandemic-induced lockdown. The fifth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), as the scheme is known, was to wind up this month. The PM-GKAY scheme delivers five kilos of rice and one kilo of pulses per person for free to 80 crore ration card holders across the country. The Centre has spent Rs. 2.60 lakh crore subsidising the scheme so far, with the extension entailing another Rs. 80,000 crore. The government also said that immigrant populations benefited from the scheme as the One Nation One Ration Card plan was in place, allowing 61 crore transactions to take place away from the issuing ration shops. States like U.P. also added on the Centre’s scheme, providing 1 kg each of bengal gram or channa, oil and salt. The Centre’s statement on the extension said that the scheme was being continued despite the economic hardships of the pandemic having abated, to ensure that hunger was not prevalent during the recovery period. The scheme reportedly also garnered benefits for the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath in the Uttar Pradesh elections. In a nod to its political benefits, the U.P. government has decided to extend the scheme by three months at its first Cabinet meeting. This mixture of economic benefits and political mileage that the plan delivers is what makes the report on its extension important. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu Explains How significant is the attainment of India’s $400 billion exports target? Why did the China Eastern Airlines plane nosedive before crash? The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced on Saturday at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders. In which stadium was the first IPL’s debut match played in 2008? Kolkata’s Eden Gardens Stadium Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 27 MARCH 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( The benefits of free ration The Central government has decided to extend for[6 more months the free ration scheme]( was introduced in April 2020, in the early months of the pandemic-induced lockdown. The fifth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), as the scheme is known, was to wind up this month. The PM-GKAY scheme delivers five kilos of rice and one kilo of pulses per person for free to 80 crore ration card holders across the country. The Centre has spent Rs. 2.60 lakh crore subsidising the scheme so far, with the extension entailing another Rs. 80,000 crore. The government also said that immigrant populations benefited from the scheme as the One Nation One Ration Card plan was in place, allowing 61 crore transactions to take place away from the issuing ration shops. States like U.P. also added on the Centre’s scheme, providing 1 kg each of bengal gram or channa, oil and salt. The Centre’s statement on the extension said that the scheme was being continued despite the economic hardships of the pandemic having abated, to ensure that hunger was not prevalent during the recovery period. The scheme reportedly also garnered benefits for the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath in the Uttar Pradesh elections. In a nod to its political benefits, the U.P. government has decided to extend the scheme by three months at its first Cabinet meeting. This mixture of economic benefits and political mileage that the plan delivers is what makes the report on its extension important. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more.  [Click here]( The Hindu Explains [Arrow][How significant is the attainment of India’s $400 billion exports target?]( [Arrow][Why did the China Eastern Airlines plane nosedive before crash?]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced on Saturday at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders. In which stadium was the first IPL’s debut match played in 2008? - Kolkata’s Eden Gardens Stadium - Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium - Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium - Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today’s Best Reads [[Time after time, parliamentarians want to know if India is changing time] Time after time, parliamentarians want to know if India is changing time]( [[Women judges in Supreme Court have short tenures] Women judges in Supreme Court have short tenures]( [[Ban on non-Hindu traders casts shadow over Karnataka’s jatre season s Trade ban on non-Hindus mars the spirit of temple jatres in Karnataka (for chennai)] Ban on non-Hindu traders casts shadow over Karnataka’s jatre season s Trade ban on non-Hindus mars the spirit of temple jatres in Karnataka (for chennai)]( [[Indian Premier League 2022: CSK vs KKR | Dhoni magic is back, but KKR prevails] Indian Premier League 2022: CSK vs KKR | Dhoni magic is back, but KKR prevails]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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