West Bengal govt extends free ration under state scheme till June 2021
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has extended free ration under the state scheme till June next year. Her statement came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced free food grains to 80 crore people, India's poorest, till November end.
"Bengal will give free ration till June 2021...The quality of ration is better than that of the Centre," she claimed, adding, "Only 60 per cent people in Bengal get central rations".
PM Modi's address focussed mainly on the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana. Addressing the nation for the sixth time after the coronavirus outbreak, He said, "Keeping in mind all the festivals that are coming up in the next few months, this scheme to provide 80 crore people with 5 kg free ration and 1 kg dal (pulses) per month will now be extended till Diwali and Chhath Puja, or till the end of November."
Meanwhile, West Bengal on Monday recorded the highest single-day spike of 624 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the state's tally to 17,907, while 14 more people succumbed to the disease raising the death toll to 653, a health bulletin said.
