Rahul Gandhi thanks Sushma for recognising Cong govts’ vision

New Delhi, Mar 26: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for healthcare workers who are at the forefront of dealing with coronavirus pandemic.

Sitharaman said the government has finalised an economic stimulus package to deal with the impact of 21-day countrywide lockdown to prevent spread of the virus.

“It’s only 36 hours since the lockdown has been imposed. Now we have come with a package which immediately take care of the welfare concerns of the poor and suffering workers and those who need immediate help,” Sitharaman said.

She also said that 80 crore poor people, nearly two thirds of the population  will get five kg of rice or wheat per month for three months, in addition to the 5 kg they already receive, for free."

The rationcard holders can take the foodgrains and pulses from the Public Distribution System (PDS) in two installments, she added.

"This measure will ensure no gareeb (poor) remains hungry," Sitharaman said.

The package will include cash transfer and food subsidy, she said.

"Farmers who currently receive Rs 6,000 annually, will be given the first installment of the next financial year immediately. 8.7 crore farmers will benefit from it," said Sitharaman.

As many of 20.5 crore women Jan Dhan Account holders will get Rs 500 per month for next three months to run their households.

For poor senior citizens, widow and disabled will get an ex-gratia of Rs 1,000.

Also, the daily wage under MNREGA has been increased to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 5 crore workers.

The minister said the government will front-load Rs 2,000 payment to farmers in the first week of April under the existing PM Kishan Yojana to benefit 8.69 crore farmers.

Also, the beneficiaries of Ujjwala LPG scheme will get free cooking gas for the next three months, she said.

This forms part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Gramin Kalyan Package.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week had constituted a task force headed by the Finance Minister to work out package for economy hit by coronavirus.

May 14: Customs officials on Wednesday intercepted China-bound consignments of raw material for masks, misdeclared as packing materials for pouches, in large quantities, a senior official said.

It has also seized multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser and 952 PPE kits bound for the US, the UK and the UAE, the official said.

The export of such goods is prohibited by the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"On the basis of specific intelligence, 2,480 kg of raw material for masks was intercepted by air cargo export, Delhi Customs. The goods were misdeclared as packing materials for pouches and were being illegally attempted to be smuggled/ exported to China," he said. 

These goods are prohibited for export as per the latest guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Foreign trade (DGFT), he said, adding that investigation into the case is under progress.

In another catch, the air cargo officers intercepted multiple shipments containing 5.08 lakh masks, 57 litres of sanitiser in 950 bottles and 952 PPE kits at the courier terminal in New Delhi. These were attempted to be smuggled or exported out of the country, the official said.

"These goods are also prohibited for export," he added. 

These items were being illegally exported to the United States, United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. "No arrests have been made so far," the official said.

New Delhi, Jun 20: The government-imposed upper and lower limits on airfares may be extended beyond August 24 depending upon how the situation turns out, Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said on Saturday.

The government resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak, but placed lower and upper limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration.

It had said on May 21 that these limits would be in place for a period of three months.

"Depending on how the situation turns out, the fare band may have to adjusted beyond that (August 24) also. But right now, it is only for three months," Kharola said at a press conference here.

International passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country.

However, the government started Vande Bharat Mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations through special flights.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the conference that during phase 3 and phase 4 of the mission, private domestic airlines have been approved to operate 750 international flights to repatriate people stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic.