Lucknow, Mar 26 (IANS): In his first decision after taking over the reins of Uttar Pradesh for the second time in a row, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday announced to extend the free ration scheme by three more months.

Talking to reporters here, the Chief Minister said that under the scheme, costing around Rs 3,270 crore, approximately 15 crore people of the state will be provided pulses, oil, salt and sugar, besides food grains, free of cost.

The Cabinet has decided to continue the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for three more months, Adityanath said.

He said the scheme was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic with an aim to help the poor and needy.

Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, Cabinet ministers Suresh Kumar Khanna and Swantatra Deo Singh were also present during the press conference.

Nishad Party's Sanjay Nishad, who became minister for the first time, and Nitin Agrawal, who switched to the saffrom party from the SP, were present during the first Cabinet meeting of the Adityanath government 2.0.