30 crore people receive Rs 282.56 bn under PMGKY
More than 30 crore poor people have received Rs 28,256 crore financial assistance as of 11 April 11, 2020 under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in March. As part of Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package, the government announced free food grains and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens and farmers to mitigate hardship faced due to the lockdown. 31 states and UTs have already announced cash transfer benefits ranging from Rs. 1,000 – Rs. 6,000; more than 2 crore workers have been given more than Rs3,000 crore rupees; and 29 lakh workers have been given food relief as well, according to Union Home Affairs Ministry.
20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders Get Rs500
Government has completed transfer of first instalment of 500 rupees to around 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders as of April 9, 2020 as part of relief package announced in the wake of COVID -19 outbreak.
EPF withdrawal claims of Rs2.79 billion settled to fight Covid-19
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), a statutory body under Union Ministry of Labour & Employment, has processed about 1.37 lakh claims across the country disbursing an amount of Rs2.79 billion under a new provision especially formulated by amending the EPF Scheme to help subscribers fight Covid-19. The remittances of the money have already started taking place. The system as it stands today is processing all applications which are fully KYC compliant within less than 72 hours. Members, who have applied for claims in some other category, can also file claim to fight pandemic. The provision for a special withdrawal from the EPF Scheme to fight Covid-19 pandemic is part of the PMGKY scheme announced by the government and an urgent notification on the matter was made to introduce a para 68 L (3) of the EPF Scheme on 28th March 2020.
ADB assures India of 2.2 bn US dollar support
President of Asian Development Bank, Masatsugu Asakawa, has, assured Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of 2.2 billion dollars or about 16,500 crore rupees, support to India in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He added, ADB assistance for India will be further increased if needed.
Gadkari distributes PPE kits to healthcare sector
Union Minister for Micro Small Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari has taken an initiative to provide 15000 PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits free of cost to healthcare workers of Government Hospitals and decided to get these kits manufactured from MSMEs in Nagpur. He yesterday distributed PPE kits manufactured by the Garment common facility centre of Micro Small Medium Enterprises to the Deans of Government Medical College and Indira Gandhi
Government Medical College at Nagpur.
Farmers And Workers In Agriculture Can Continue To Operate
The Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Narendra Singh Tomar, through a video conference with senior officers, to review steps for facilitating farming activities during lockdown, has said the government, following directions of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has taken several initiatives to ensure that farmers and workers engaged in agriculture and allied sectors can continue to operate without difficulty. Tomar, accompanied by the Ministers of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Parshottam Rupala and Kailash Choudhary, said farmers should not face difficulty in harvesting crops. He stressed that all efforts should be made that farmers can sell their produce near their farmlands, besides ensuring that the farm produce is transported without hindrance within the state and inter-state. Exports of food grains and agricultural products should also not be affected, he added.
