The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) was launched in the year 2016 by PM Narendra Modi along with the other provisions of the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016. It came into effect from 17th December 2016 under the Ministry of Finance.  The topic, PMGKY is important from the IAS Exam perspective as it has been in news recently.

To know how to avail benefits under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, one can visit – https://www.epfindia.gov.in/site_en/covid19.php.

Various other important government schemes are mentioned below which are a must-read for UPSC aspirants:

Updates about PM Garib Kalyan Yojana

• PM Modi in his speech on 30th June 2020 mentioned the extension of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana till the end of November 2020. He also mentioned that in the last 3 months, Rs. 31,000 crore deposited in bank accounts of 20 crore poor families.
• Over 80 crore poor people are to be provided free food grains till November 2020 – 5kg of wheat/rice and 1 Kg of pulses per family.
• The extension of PMGKY  is going to cost Rs.90,000 crore.
• Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in India, the Finance Minister, on 26th March 2020, had announced a ₹1.7 lakh crore Gareeb Kalyan package to mitigate the loss faced by the poor due to the coronavirus lockdown.
• Earlier, the scheme was valid from December 16, 2016, to March 31, 2017, and later was extended till June 2020.
• The PMGKY provided an opportunity to declare the unaccounted wealth and black money in a confidential manner and avoid prosecution after paying a fine of 50% on the undisclosed income. An additional 25% of the undisclosed income is invested in the scheme which can be refunded after four years, without any interest.
• On June 1, 2021 it  was announced by the the Union Government of India that it had already extended the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19’ for one year with effect from 24.04.2021. The Central Government had revived this insurance policy for a period of one year so as to continue to provide the safety net to the dependents of health workers, who are deputed to take care of COVID-19 patients.

PM Garib Kalyan Yojana – How to Avail Benefits:-Download PDF Here

The highlights of this scheme have been mentioned in the table below:

This is an important topic for the IAS exam and is included under the GS-III section of the UPSC Syllabus. Candidates appearing for the UPSC exam can also download the notes PDF below. 

PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMJDY):- Download PDF Here

PM Garib Kalyan Yojana

The last announcement on PMGKY was made on 29th June 2020. Earlier on 26th March 2020, the government took an initiative towards the loss caused by the outbreak. The lockdown in the nation due to Coronavirus expected to cost the Indian Economy a cost of around 9 lakh crores.

Announcements made by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on 26th March 2020 are mentioned below:

• To provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs per health worker affected by COVID-19. 
• To provide free resources of 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for 80 crore poor people for the next three months under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
• 20 crore Women Jan Dhan account holders will be provided Rs 500 per month for the next three months. 
• There will be an increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 per day to benefit 13.62 crore families.
• The Central Government has given orders to State Governments to use the Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund to provide relief to Construction Workers.

To know about other government schemes, refer to the linked page.

Benefits of PM Garib Kalyan Package

To reduce the loss caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 in India, the Finance Minister launched the PM Garib Kalyan Package on March 26th, 2020 for the BPL families. 

Some of the benefits provided by the PM Garib Kalyan Package are as follows:

• An Insurance Cover of Rs. 50 Lakh

Under this PM Garib Kalyan Scheme, any health worker in government hospitals and healthcare centres who are treating the Covid-19 patients would be provided with an insurance cover of Rs. 50 lakh if met with some accident. These health workers include Safai karamcharis, ward-boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors, and specialists. All government health centres, wellness centres, and hospitals of Centres as well as States would be covered under this scheme.  Approximately 22 lakh health workers would be provided insurance cover to fight this pandemic.

• Free Pulses for the next 3 months under PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana

The Government of India declared to provide free resources of 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for 80 crore poor people three months under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. Each one of them was provided double of their current entitlement over the next three months to ensure adequate availability of protein to all Covid-19 affected BPL families. 

• Benefit to farmers

The Government front-loaded Rs. 2,000 paid to farmers in the first week of April under the existing PM Kisan Yojana which will benefit 8.7 crore farmers.

• Free LPG cylinders to the BPL families

The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman made an announcement on 26th March 2020 to provide free cylinders to the BPL (Below Poverty Line)  families for the three months since the announcement was made under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

• To help the low wage earners in organized sectors

The PM Garib Kalyan Package will also help the Wage-earners who are earning below Rs. 15,000 per month in businesses that are having less than 100 workers. The wage workers who are at risk of losing their employment were provided with 24 percent of their monthly wages into their PF accounts for the three months, from the announcement date, which would prevent disruption in their employment.

Apart from the above-mentioned benefits, MNREGA wages would also be increased by Rs. 20 with effect from 1 April 2020 under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana. The wage increase under MNREGA will provide an additional Rs. 2,000 benefits annually to a worker which will benefit approximately 13.62 crore families. To know more about MNREGA, refer to the linked page.

PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMJDY):- Download PDF Here

Candidates who are appearing for the upcoming UPSC Prelims Examination should keep a clear concept about the latest updates on PM Garib Kalyan Yojana. Many questions can be asked from this topic in the General Awareness section. They should also follow the latest updates in Current Affairs related to other government schemes for their UPSC 2021 preparation.

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