Free food for over 60 lakh people — that is the scale of welfare delivery Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami highlighted on Friday, August 7, 2026, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for sustaining the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) as a cornerstone of food security in the state.

In his post, CM Dhami wrote that under Modi's 'capable leadership,' welfare of the poor has been given the 'highest priority,' with PMGKAY ensuring free foodgrains reach the poor, deprived, and needy sections of society — providing them, as he put it, 'aarthik sambal aur samajik suraksha ka mazboot aadhar' ('a strong foundation of economic support and social security').

PMGKAY: From COVID Emergency to Permanent Safety Net

PMGKAY was first launched in March 2020 as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, supplying additional free grains to families already covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013. What began as a crisis measure has since evolved into one of the central government's flagship welfare commitments, extended repeatedly and eventually made a permanent feature of India's food security architecture.

Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state with a significant rural and economically vulnerable population — spread across remote hill districts where market access is limited — has been among the states where the scheme's reach carries particular weight. The CM's figure of more than 60 lakh beneficiaries represents a substantial share of the state's total population.

Welfare as Political Messaging in a BJP-Governed State

Dhami's post fits squarely into a broader pattern: BJP-governed states amplifying central welfare schemes as evidence of governance delivery, with the Prime Minister's name front and centre. The framing — poor families receiving not just food but 'social security' — signals an intent to position PMGKAY beyond a ration scheme and closer to a social contract.

The NFSA, the legal backbone of India's subsidised food system, covers roughly two-thirds of the country's population. PMGKAY layered free grains on top of that entitlement, removing even the nominal cost that NFSA beneficiaries previously paid. For households in Uttarakhand's hill districts, where seasonal unemployment and migration are common, that margin matters.

With central government decisions on scheme continuity and Uttarakhand's quarterly distribution cycles both on the horizon, the political salience of food security in the state is unlikely to fade. When 60 lakh people depend on a single scheme, every extension announcement is a news event — and every CM post a reminder of who is counting.