June 30, 2020
Art of Living International Center, Bengaluru, India
The free ration scheme for 800 million (80 crore) people in India was extended till November in a recent announcement by the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. The government had started this scheme in April 2020 as a solution to the challenge of hunger posed by the Covid-19 pandemic for the daily-wage earners.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar welcomed the extension which will he believes will “build confidence and eliminate fear of starvation”. Since the lockdown in March 2020 and the subsequent measures taken to control the spread of the Coronavirus, the daily-wage earners had to face an additional challenge of starvation.
I welcome the decision of PM @narendramodi to extend the free ration scheme for 80 crore people. This welfare measure not only evokes confidence but also eliminates the fear of starvation, which had gripped the country. I congratulate PM for taking such a historical measure.
— Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (@Gurudev) June 30, 2020
The Art of Living and IAHV were the first to respond to this challenge and have been providing free ration and fresh, cooked meals to those in need. As of May 13th, over 75 million (7.5 crore) meals have been distributed, feeding over 2.5 million (25 lakh) families in India alone.
