Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana 2020 (PMGKY)
Each day, new COVID- 19 cases are being reported in India. The complete lockdown till 14th April 2020 may slow down the spread of the disease. Both central and state government need to work on war footing to develop the medical infrastructure. The lockdown will lower the GDP of the country. As commoners are compelled to stay indoors, many have lost their jobs. It paves the path for financial insecurity. The Prime Minister of India has launched Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to offer respite to the needy individuals. If you want to know more about this welfare scheme, then read this article.
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Name of the scheme |
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana or PMGKY |
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Launched in |
India |
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Launched by |
Narendra Modi |
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Announced by |
Nirmala Sitharaman |
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Date of announcement |
March 2020 |
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Target beneficiaries |
Residents who require assistance |
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Supervised by |
Government of India |
Key features of the scheme
- Prevent panic in the country – The spread of Coronavirus can create a panic among the people. The implementation of this welfare scheme will prevent such situations in India.
- Offers financial assistance – Loss of employment opportunities can disrupt the financial stability. The central government will offer fiscal support to the needy people to maintain the economic security.
- Provides food security – Another objective of this project is to make sure that the needy people do not have to stay on an empty stomach, during the lockdown.
- Budget for the scheme – The central government has set aside a whopping budget Rs. 1.7 lakh crore for the proper implementation of this scheme.
- Number of beneficiaries – The Prime Minister highlighted that the implementation of this scheme will provide direct benefits to 80 crore Indians.
- Components of the scheme – The new scheme consists of two separate components. The residents that require immediate help will acquire the perks of the food security methods. The beneficiaries of other packages will attain financial assistance.
- Mode of payment – The Finance Minister pointed out that the central government will deposit the monetary assistance in the bank account of the respective beneficiary via DBT.
- Number of packages announced – The Finance Minister of India has so far announced 12 different welfare packages under this project. These packages have been developed carefully to ensure that people from all walks of life acquire the benefits.
Click Here to read Jan Dhan Yojna Benefits
Who can get benefits of this scheme?
- Agricultural workers – The poor farmers who have applied for agricultural loan or otherwise, will be able to apply for this scheme.
- Aged people – The central government will continue the pension schemes for people, who have crossed the age of 60 years.
- Widows – Beneficiaries, which come under the Widow Pension projects, will also get additional financial assistance.
- Disabled people – The physically or mentally handicap people, who get disability pension, can apply for extra financial help.
- MNREGA workers – The Finance Minister highlighted that the MGNREGA workers will be allowed to register to attain the perks of this scheme.
- Jan Dhan Yojana female beneficiaries – If any woman is a beneficiary of the jan Dhan Yojana, then she will be an eligible candidate, and can apply accordingly.
- Self-Help Groups – All registered Self-Help Groups, which are operated by women, will be brought under this new scheme.
- Beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme – Those women, who obtain the benefits of the Ujjwala Scheme, will be able to partake in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.
- Employees of organized private sectors – People, working in the organized private sector will also receive financial assistance.
How can an eligible candidate apply for this scheme?
The Prime Minister has stated in his announcements that the entire nation is going through a tough phase. It is impossible for the eligible applicants to come out during lockdown and opt for offline registration. The Prime Minister wants to offer the perks of this scheme to the people immediately. As the eligible applicants are already part of one scheme or another, the central government has the details in the database. Thus, no enrollment is necessary to obtain the perks of this scheme. The government officials will access the database, and create the beneficiary list. Accordingly, the authority will start the task of benefit distribution.
Click Here to apply for PM KIsaan SAmman Nidhi Yojana
Essential packages announced under the scheme
- Free ration and pulses – Ration card holders, which belong to the needy categories, attain 5 kg food grain (rice or wheat) free of cost from the ration shops. Under the new scheme, the government will offer these candidates additional 5 kg food grains, for upcoming three months, free of cost. Apart from this, the beneficiaries will obtain 1 kg free dal from the ration shops.
- Medical insurance for medical professionals – Around 22 lakh medical and health care professionals are doing their best to offer treatment to the infected patients. Apart from the doctors, nurses, hospital medical staffs, ASHA workers, ANM and Anganwadi workers will receive medical insurance of Rs. 50 lakhs.
- Financial assistance for farmers – The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana will be included under the PMGKY. The scheme guidelines highlight that 8.69 crore agricultural workers will attain Rs, 2000 via DBT mode. The farmer welfare project will commence from 1st April 2020.
- Improvement in Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act – Official reports suggest that 5 crore households are registered under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The rural workers used to receive Rs. 182 on a daily basis. The central government has raised the daily wage to Ra. 202. During the lockdown, the registered beneficiaries will receive an additional financial assistance of Rs. 2000.
- Ex-gratia payments – This step has been taken to ensure financial security to the individuals who receive old age, widow and disability pensions. The number of such beneficiaries is around 3 crore. The Finance Minister said that these beneficiaries will obtain an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 1000. The amount will be deposited in their bank accounts in two installments.
- Financial aids for Jan Dhan Yojana beneficiaries – Around 20 crore female beneficiaries have active accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana. Such individuals will attain Rs. 500 in their bank accounts. The monetary aid will continue for the next three months.
- Free gas cylinders for Ujjwala Scheme beneficiaries – Official reports shed light on the fact that 8.3 crore women are beneficiaries of the Ujjwala Scheme. These beneficiaries will attain gas cylinders free of cost for the next three months.
- Credit for SHGs – It has been highlighted that all women-operated SHGs will be offered credit up to Rs. 20 lakhs. Earlier, the credit limit was Rs. 10 lakhs. Additionally, the members of the SHGs will not have to keep any collateral for obtaining the loan.
- Medicine delivery services – Medicines play an important role in maintaining the health of a person. Some individuals depend on medicine on a daily basis. To ensure that such people attain the necessary drugs, the CCEA will monitor home delivery process. It will aid the social distancing process.
- Payment of EPF – For the successive three months, the central government will pay the sum that the employees and the employers are supposed to contribute in the account. The facility will be available for those who work in the organized sector.
- Financial assistance for contractual workers – Some of the government departments hire people on contractual basis. The central government has decided that such employees will get the full remuneration, even if the offices remain closed.
- Restoring Regional Rural Banks – The central government will take the necessary financial steps for recapitalization of the rural banks in different regions. For this, a fund has been established. The fund consists of Rs. 1340 crores, which will restore the financial status of the Regional Rural Banks.
The implementation of this scheme will prevent liquidity concerns of people, working in the private sectors. It will also keep food scarcity at bay. All the central government departments will pool in their resources to help the nation in getting the upper hand on the pandemic Coronavirus issue.
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