5 kg grain, 1 kg pulses free for 3 months: FM
March 26, 2020  14:19
Daily wagers despair over making ends meet
Daily wagers despair over making ends meet
A recap on the economic stimulus that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced just now: The government will ensure distribution of 5 kilo of wheat or rice and one kilo of preferred pulses free-of-cost every month over the next three months to 80 crore poor across the country to deal with the economic impact of the lockdown amid coronavirus outbreak. 

As many of 20.5 crore women Jan Dhan Account holders will get Rs 500 per month for next three months to run their households. For poor senior citizens, widow and disabled will get an ex-gratia of Rs 1,000. Also, the daily wage under MNREGA has been increased to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 5 crore workers. 

The minister said the government will front-load Rs 2,000 payment to farmers in the first week of April under the existing PM Kishan Yojana to benefit 8.69 crore farmers. Also, the beneficiaries of Ujjwala LPG scheme will get free cooking gas for the next three months, she said. This forms part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Gramin Kalyan Package. PTI

Image: A rickshaw puller waits for passengers on a deserted road, amid a nationwide lockdown over the highly contagious novel coronavirus in New Delhi. Daily wage earners are despairing over how they will manage their family's livelihood without any work
« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES