Free Ration (PMGKAY) 2026: Eligibility, Benefits & How to Apply

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (प्रधानमंत्री गरीब कल्याण अन्न योजना) — Free foodgrains under NFSA until Dec 2028 · AAY and priority-household ration card holders

Ongoing

Free foodgrains under NFSA until Dec 2028 — AAY and priority-household ration card holders

LATEST · 31 Dec 2025Free foodgrains under PMGKAY continue for five years from 1 January 2024; about 80 crore of the intended 81.35 crore people are receiving them. pib.gov.in ↗

Official site: nfsa.gov.in ↗

Source: pib.gov.in · checked 21 Oct 2026

Free Ration (PMGKAY) quick answers

What you getFree foodgrains under NFSA until Dec 2028pib.gov.in Who can get itAAY and priority-household ration card holdersSee eligibility How to applySee the steps Official websitenfsa.gov.inCentral government

Benefit

Free foodgrains for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority-household (PHH) beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act.
Continued for five years from 1 January 2024.
Collected from the Fair Price Shop with the ration card.

Source: pib.gov.in ↗ · 21 Oct 2026

Free Ration (PMGKAY) official links

Official websitenfsa.gov.in ↗

Scheme page on myScheme (Govt of India)myscheme.gov.in ↗

Scheme Guidelinesidfcinstitute.org ↗

Latest official updates

Free foodgrains under PMGKAY continue for five years from 1 January 2024; about 80 crore of the intended 81.35 crore people are receiving them.31 Dec 2025pib.gov.in ↗

Am I eligible for Free Ration (PMGKAY)?

Who can apply

Tick each line that is true for you.

Families belonging to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH) categories will be eligible for the scheme. Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support. Widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more or single women or single men with no family or societal support or assured means of subsistence. All primitive tribal households. Landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers, and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector like porters, coolies, rickshaw pullers, hand cart pullers, fruit and flower sellers, snake charmers, rag pickers, cobblers, destitutes and other similar categories in both rural and urban areas. All eligible Below Poverty Line families of HIV positive persons

Source: myscheme.gov.in ↗ · 21 Oct 2026

How to apply

Steps

Beneficiaries can quote either their ration card number or the Aadhaar number to any Fair Price Shop dealer across the country.
Beneficiaries can undergo Aadhaar authentication by using their fingerprints or iris-based identification.

Documents

Ration Card
Aadhar Card (if seeded with Ration Card)

Source: myscheme.gov.in ↗ · 21 Oct 2026

Free Ration (PMGKAY): questions people ask

Who are eligible for the scheme?

This scheme can be availed by to all eligible ration cardholders or beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

How do I know if I am NFSA Beneficiary?

You can check on https://nfsa.gov.in/portal/ration_card_state_portals_aad

How Do I avail the Scheme? Is there any application process?

Interested person shall visit nearest Fair Price Shop with Ration Card

Source: myscheme.gov.in ↗

What changed on this page

31 Dec 2025 · Free foodgrains under PMGKAY continue for five years from 1 January 2024; about 80 crore of the intended 81.35 crore people are receiving them.

21 Oct 2026 · Facts checked against the official sources on 21 Oct 2026.

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