New Delhi, Jun 30 (IANS): "Ensuring dignity of the poor of India"—Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this in as many as 16 languages, while highlighting his recent decision to extend the free ration scheme for 80 crore Indians for another five months.

From Bengali to Marathi, and Bhojpuri to Maithili -- the PM tweeted in an array of regional languages with a YouTube link of his dubbed version of the address to the nation on Tuesday. While the wordings may differ, the essence of all the tweets remains the same -- the BJP-led Centre's pro-poor outlook.

In Tamil, Modi tweeted, "Ensuring the dignity of the poor. The extension of the Prime Minister's Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna will benefit billions of poor people across the country."

Meanwhile, in Gujarati, his mother tongue, Modi said, "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana will benefit crores of poor people of the country, the dignity of the poor will be honored."

This unique way of dissemination of information could also be seen as an effort by the Prime Minister to cohesively bind India, a widely diverse country, which is going through a tough pandemic situation.

Earlier on Tuesday, hiniting that it is a long haul and India's poor and needy will continue to need the handholding of the state, Modi declared the extension of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna' (PMGKAY) by another five months till November end. PMGKAY is a programm through which 80 crore Indians get free monthly ration.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, Modi said, "During festivals, our needs also increase and so do the expenses. Keeping all these things in mind, it has been decided that the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana should now be extended till Diwali and Chhath Puja, which is by the end of November."