PM Garib Kalyan package report card: Modi govt says crores of people get cash, food, other help
Nearly 42 crore poor people have received financial assistance of Rs 53,248 crore under the package and around 118 lakh MT of foodgrains have been distributed in the month of April, May, and June so far.Crores of people in need have received cash, food grains, LPG cylinders, and other assistance amid the nationwide lockdown. The Narendra Modi-led government has issued a report card indicating the status of the Garib Kalyan package worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore. Nearly 42 crore poor people have received financial assistance of Rs 53,248 crore under the package and around 118 lakh MT of foodgrains have been distributed in the month of April, May, and June so far, according to the statement issued by the Ministry of Finance. Out of a total of 9.25 crore LPG cylinders booked under PM Ujjwala Yojana, 8.58 crore PMUY free cylinders have also been delivered to beneficiaries.
Considering the massive loss of employment amid lockdown, the government had increased the limit of the number of man-days under MGNREGA. The government has now revealed that 48.13 crore person’s man-days of work have been generated and Rs 28,729 crore has been released to states in order to clear pending dues of both wage and material.
Through direct benefit transfer (DBT), the government has front-loaded Rs 16,394 crore as the first installment of PM-KISAN to 8.19 crore beneficiaries, while a total of Rs 2814.5 crore has been disbursed to about 2.81 crore old age persons, widows and disabled persons in two installments.
Meanwhile, the Modi government also introduced a provision to withdraw funds under the newly launched category of coronavirus pandemic. In the report card issued by the government, it said that 16.1 lakh members of EPFO have taken benefit of the scheme, which amounts to Rs 4,725 crore. Also, the government has transferred 24 per cent EPF contribution to 59.23 lakh employees.