RELIEF PACKAGE UNDER PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN YOJANA

Context

  • Recently, Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Niramla Sitharaman has announced Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the poor to help them fight the battle against CoronaVirus.

The components of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package

    • Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres
    • Insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 to be provided under a special Insurance Scheme
    • Safai karamcharis, ward-boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors and specialists and other health workers would be covered.
    • All government health centres, wellness centres and hospitals of Centre as well as States would be covered under this scheme
    • Approximately 22 lakh health workers would be provided insurance cover to fight this pandemic.
    • PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana
      • 80 crore individuals, i.e, roughly two-thirds of India’s population would be
      • covered under this scheme
      • The scheme aims to solve the problem of non-availability of foodgrains due to disruption in the next three months.
      • People will to get 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month for the next three months
      • Each one of them would be provided double of their current entitlement over the next three months.
    • Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana,
    • Benefit to Farmers:
      • The first instalment of Rs 2,000 due in 2020-21 will be front-loaded and paid in April 2020 itself under the PM KISAN Yojana.
      • It would cover 8.7 crore farmers

Cash transfers Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana:
Help to Poor:

  • A total of 20.40 crores PMJDY women account-holders would be given an ex-gratia of Rs 500 per month for next three months.

Gas Cylinders:

  • Gas cylinders, free of cost, would be provided to 8 crore poor families for the next three months.

Help to low wage earners in Organised sectors:

  • Wage-earners below Rs 15,000 per month in businesses having less than 100 workers are at risk of losing their employment.
  • The government proposes to pay 24 percent of their monthly wages into their PF accounts for next three months. This would prevent disruption in their employment

Support for senior citizens (above 60 years), widows and Divyang:

  • There are around 3 crore aged widows and people in Divyang category who are vulnerable due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
  • The centre proposes to give them Rs 1,000 to tide over difficulties during the next three months.

NREGA:

  • Wages would be increased by Rs 20 with effect from 1 April, 2020.
  • Wage increase under MNREGA will provide an additional Rs 2,000 benefit annually to a worker.
  • This will benefit approximately 13.62 crore families.

Self-Help groups:

  • Limit of collateral free lending would be increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakhs.
  • Women organised through 63 lakhs Self Help Groups (SHGs) support 6.85 crore households, which would be benefitted.

Other components of PM Garib Kalyan Package:

  • Organised sector:
  • Employees’ Provident Fund Regulations will be amended to include Pandemic as the reason to allow non-refundable advance of 75 percent of the amount or three months of the wages, whichever is lower, from their accounts.
  • Families of four crore workers registered under EPF can take benefit of this window.

Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Fund:

  • A Welfare Fund for Building and Other Constructions Workers has been created under a Central Government Act.
  • There are around 3.5 Crore registered workers in the Fund.
  • State Governments will be given directions to utilise this fund to provide assistance and support to these workers to protect them against economic disruptions.

District Mineral Fund:

  • The State Government will be asked to utilise the funds available under District Mineral Fund (DMF) for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, screening and other requirements in connection with preventing the spread of CVID-19 pandemic as well as treating the patients affected with this pandemic.
  • Nearly 75% of the Indian economy will be shut down during the 21-day period, which would lead to a direct output loss of approximately 4.5%. The economic relief package might be used to put money directly into the accounts of more than 100 million poor and to support businesses hit the hardest by the lockdown.
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