In his June 30 national address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the host of initiatives that were taken by the Centre to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country and its adverse economic impact.
In his sixth televised national address since the outbreak, which comes on the eve of Unlock 2.0, the Prime Minister reminded that the Centre has been invested in ensuring that no poor person sleeps with an empty stomach.
He said: “During the lockdown, the top priority of the country was to make sure that no person remains hungry. The central government, the state governments, and even the civil society came together to ensure none of our poor brothers and sisters went hungry.”
He then said the Centre has deposited Rs 31,000 crore in the Jan Dhan accounts of 20 crore poor families over the past three months. The PM added: “Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, we announced a package of Rs. 1.75 lakh crore... During this time, Rs 18,000 crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of more than nine crore farmers."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna till November 30.
The extension of this scheme is set to cost more than Rs 90,000 crore. Under it, more than 80 crore people are guaranteed five kilos of wheat or rice for free, alongside one kilo of pulses for each household. The scheme was launched in March, after the coronavirus lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of the virus, which had led to the loss of livelihoods for many daily wage earners.
