Hyderabad (Telangana): With the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown for the entire country on 24th March. Prior to that, India observed self-imposed (Janata Curfew) between 7 am to 9 pm on Modi's appeal on March 22 for a day to combat the spread of Covid-19. Modi stated that lockdown was the only way to break the chain of infection which will be in effect till April 14. However, seeing the spike government has extended the nationwide lockdown till May 3 announcing some relief after April 20. Let's have a look on the initiative steps taken by the Indian Government across the lockdown.
Nationwide lockdown brought the life of daily-wage and construction workers to a standstill and unemployment started looming over their heads. In order to help the needy, the Central Govt gave 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free for three months to 80 crore poor people. Insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh per person for doctors and medical workers fighting Covid-19 was also announced in the month of March.
To help the beneficiaries of Jan Dhan Yojna, women account holders received Rs 500 per month for the next three months. Announcing relief for the middle class, Modi govt declared that bank account holders would not be charged extra for using a debit card to withdraw money from the ATMs of other banks for the next three months, and charges for not meeting minimum balance requirements would also be waived.
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Under the existing PM Kisan Yojna, Central Govt announced Rs 2000 for 8.7 crore farmers and Rs 15,000 for wage earners. Apart from this, less than 100 workers received 24% of their monthly wages into their PF accounts for the next three months. Around 8.3 crore BPL families also received free gas cylinders in March.
Giving relaxation to the middle-income strata of the society, the Centre has directed the State to use the construction Workers Welfare Fund to give relief to 3.5 crore registered workers in April. Instalments including equated monthly instalments, credit card dues, principal or interest payments and bullet payments are deferred and repo cut was cut by 0.75 percentage points to 4.4%
On April 5, Union Health Ministry announced that it was scaling up measures to combat the virus by bringing in 40,000 more ventilators in the next three months. DGCA flights were given permission to carry cargo in the cabin and this move has helped to meet demand with more supplies.
Central Government also launched the Arogya Sethu App to create awareness among people about Covid-19 and urged people to extend financial aid to PM CARES FUND. Modi govt also released ₹11,000 crore from the State Disaster Relief Fund in April and declared that it should be used for efforts to fight against the deadly epidemic.
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The government had allotted ₹ 15,000 crore for the purchase of personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, setting up testing laboratories and quarantine centres. Under Ayushman Bharat scheme, free tests and medical treatment were declared for more than 50 crore beneficiaries across designated hospitals across India.
The Union Cabinet approved a 30% cut in the salaries of all Members of Parliament and a two-year suspension of the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme so that the amount saved can go to the Consolidated Fund of India to fight against pandemic.
