Coronavirus lockdown: FM announces Rs 1.7 lakh crore package for poor

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (Picture/PTI)

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharama on Thursday stated the government is planning to provide a relief package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore to the underprivileged, poor and migrant workers affected by the lockdown amid COVID-19 outbreak. The scheme has been named Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Scheme.

She also said that workers - like nurses, paramedics, and sanitation staff - who were in the frontline of the war against the disease, will be provided medical insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh per person.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.

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