In a welcome move, the Centre will be providing free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) for the month of May and June 2021.

The government said that around 80 crore people will benefit from the scheme.

Under the PMGKAY, the poor will be provided 5kg of free food grains for the next two months amid a devastating second wave of COVID-19 gripping the nation.

PM Modi said that when the country is witnessing a resurge in COVID-19 cases, it is important that the poor be provided nutritional support.

As per a report, over Rs 26,000 crore would be spent on this initiative.

On Friday, India reported 3,32,730 fresh COVID cases, the highest one-day spike since last year. The cumulative tally now stands at 1,62,63,695.