Amid accusations by the Opposition of not doing enough for the poor, the Centre on Tuesday outlined the welfare measures it has taken so far. It said that more than 32 crore poor people have been given direct cash support of Rs 29,352 crore financial assistance and 5.29 crore beneficiaries have been given free ration of food grains under the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana during the nationwide lockdown.
Rajesh Malhotra of the Ministry of Finance further highlighted that 3,985 MT of Pulses have been dispatched to various states and union territories for distribution even as 1.39 crore cylinders were booked under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme and of these,
97.8 Lakh free cylinders have already been delivered to the beneficiaries.
As many as one lakh members of Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) have taken benefits of online withdrawal of non refundable advance from EPFO accounts amounting to Rs 510 cr.
In order to provide support to farmers in view of the lockdown Rs 14,946 crore have been transferred to 7.4 crore farmers towards first instalment under the PM-KISAN.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, during Rabi season 2020, NAFED has procured 1,21,890 MT Pulses and Oilseeds on MSP for an amount of Rs 595.52 crore, which has benefitted 89,145 farmers. Under the PM-GKY about 5516 MT of pulses has been dispatched for delivery to the States/UTs.
According to the Ministry of Finance, more than two crore building and construction workers have received financial support worth Rs 3,071 crore.