Cabinet approves proposal to give free grains to 8 cr migrants

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave ex-post facto approval for distribution of 5 kg foodgrains from the central pool for free to 8 crore migrant workers for two months. Last week, the government had announced providing free of cost about 5 kg foodgrain per month for May and June as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore 'AtmaNirbhar' package to tackle the economic slump resulting from COVID-19.

"The allocation will ease the hardships faced by migrant / stranded migrants due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19," an official release said. It would entail an estimated food subsidy of about Rs 2,982.27 crore.

Further, the expenditure towards intra-state transportation and handling charges and dealer's margin / additional dealer margin will account for about 127.25 crore which will be borne fully by the central government, it said. Accordingly, the total subsidy from the central government is estimated at about Rs 3,109.52 crore, it added.