GANDHINAGAR: Referring to the coronavirus pandemic, Modi said that despite the “biggest crisis of the century” affecting entire humanity, his government did not let people sleep hungry.
“Despite hunger becoming a massive problem in many countries of the world, India identified the crisis and worked on it from the very first day of the pandemic,” PM Modi said, after a virtual interaction with the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) beneficiaries in Gujarat.
“This is why Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana is being praised across the world, and big experts are praising that India is providing free food grains to more than 80 crore people during the pandemic. The country is spending more than Rs 2 lakh crore on this. Our only aim is that none of our Indian brothers and sisters remain hungry,” he said.
The PM-GKAY food security scheme is helping crores of poor people during the pandemic which has helped lessen the worries of the poor, Modi said in his address, marking the completion of chief minister Vijay Rupani’s five years in office.
The scope and budget of cheap ration schemes rose since Independence but the effect it should have had on the poor remained limited due to ineffective delivery systems and selfish elements, the PM remarked. He added that the government used new technology to make the food grain delivery system to the poor more effective.
“Today, the country is spending lakhs of crores on infrastructure, but at the same time, it is also setting new benchmarks to improve the quality of life of the common man,” the PM said. He added that schemes like the Ayushman Yojana, Mudra Yojna, Svanidhi Yojna and measures like granting reservations to the economically weaker sections, construction of roads, providing free gas and electricity connections empower the common man.
