Income Tax is keeping an eye on those who take free ration, if your name appears in this list then you will not get wheat-rice
PMGKAY: Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was started by the central government during the Covid period. Since then, the government has been continuously providing free ration to poor families under this scheme.
Free Ration: If you also take free ration under the Central Government's 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana' (PMGKAY), then this news is for you.
Yes, it has come to the notice of the government many times that ineligible people are also taking advantage of free ration under the scheme. Under the scheme, those who pay income tax or do government jobs are not eligible to get ration.
Now in view of this, the Income Tax Department will share the data with the Food Ministry to remove ineligible people from the list of beneficiaries under the 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana' (PMGKAY).
A provision of Rs 2.03 lakh crore has been made for the scheme in the budget
Under PMGKAY, the benefit of free ration is given to such poor families who do not pay income tax. The government has made a provision of Rs 2.03 lakh crore for PMGKAY in the budget for the financial year 2025-26, which is more than the revised estimate of Rs 1.97 lakh crore for the current financial year.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) was launched with the aim of reducing the difficulties faced by the poor and needy due to the economic stagnation caused by the Kovid-19 epidemic in the country.
The scheme was extended for five years from January 2024
Later, the government extended the limit of free ration distribution under PMGKAY for five years from January 1, 2024. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in an office order that the Director General of Income Tax (System) will have the right to give information to the Joint Secretary of the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
As per the data sharing arrangement, DFPD will provide Aadhaar or PAN number along with tax assessment year to DGLT (System), New Delhi.
If PAN is provided or Aadhaar provided is linked with PAN, DGIT (Systems) will respond to DFPD regarding the income determined as per the Income Tax Department database.
If Aadhaar number of the beneficiary is not linked with any PAN in the Income Tax database, DGIT (Systems) will communicate the same to DFPD. Such response and the manner of exchange of information will be decided by DGLT (Systems) and DFPD.
To facilitate the process of submission of information, DGIT (Systems) will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DFPD. The MoU will include the manner of transfer of data, maintaining confidentiality, mechanism for safe preservation of data, post-use shedding, etc.