Sh. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution  visited Shimla on 25th September 2021 to interact virtually with the beneficiaries of Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna using NIC VC facility. Sh. Jai Ram Thakur, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh, Hon’ble Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Hon’ble Urban Development Minister, Secretary PDS, Government of India, Chief Secretary and other officers were present on the occasion. The 6 beneficiaries participated in the event from Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Shimla. Sh. Piyush Goyal asked the beneficiaries if they were facing any issues with the Scheme and in case they have any suggestion to further improve the scheme. All beneficiaries expressed their satisfaction with the scheme and appreciated the efforts of the State Government.

Sh. Jai Ram Thakur, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and Sh. Piyush Goyal for providing sufficient quantity of ration to the State for the needy persons under the scheme. The beneficiaries have been using the money saved from ration items for the studies of their children which is very important. A beneficiary requested the Hon’ble Chief Minister for construction of a specific road which he assured to look into.  

The event was organised through NIC Video Conferencing and officers from NIC Headquarters, State Centre Shimla and all District Units of Himachal Pradesh contributed in making the event successful. The beneficiaries attended the event from their respective District NIC Units from NIC VC studios. Sh. Shailender Kaushal, TD and NIC HP team from State and District Centres coordinated and arranged the VC facilities.

The event was webcast live on NIC webcast system at https://webcast.gov.in/himachal and the link was announced on the Home page of Himachal Government web portal at https://himachal.nic.in It was made available to general public at sub-division, block and panchayat level also through LED screens set up for this purpose by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Himachal Pradesh.