The Uttar Pradesh government has decided provide an additional 5 kilograms of ration (rice/wheat) free along with the 5 kg of foodgrains to be distributed under  the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to each beneficiariy in May and June. As many as 14.5 million people in the state are expected to benefit from the scheme.  Directives in this regard were issued by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Sunday. Officials of the Food and Civil Supplies department have already started making necessary arrangements.

In Uttar Pradesh, there are 3.5 crore ration card-holders who receive monthly quota of three kilograms of wheat and two kg of rice at subsidised rates of Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kilogram respectively, through 80,000 ration shops. A total of 7.5 lakh metric tons of food grains have to be raised every month in order to be distributed among 14.5 million people in the state. 

Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, Veena Kumari Meena said that ration distribution would be done under the supervision of a nodal officer amid strict Corona protocol. “Ration will be distributed through biometric authentication as was done last year during the lockdown period,” she said.

Meanwhile, online monitoring of ration to be distributed in May and June will also be done. Officials said that ration distribution and supply chain management are fully computerised. Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) machines have been installed that keep updating information on the status of distribution. Also, through the dashboard, complete information about every shop and each ration card in UP, can be gathered.