The government on Thursday unveiled special measures amounting to over Rs 3 lakh crore for migrant workers, farmers and other segments of the economy to help them tide over the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the deadly virus infection spread further in various states to push the nationwide tally closer to the 80,000 mark.
The death toll crossed 2,500, while more than 26,000 have recovered so far.
Some states like Kerala, Goa and Assam have also begun showing a sudden uptick in new cases after having flattened the curve earlier, while Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar are also reporting higher rates for past few days. Officials said most of the new cases in these places are linked to people having returned from outside in special trains, buses and flights.
Large numbers of cases continued to get reported in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and the national capital.
Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to help India become self-reliant in the wake of the pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the second round of these special measures, totalling about Rs 3.16 lakh crore in terms of concessional credit for farmers, free foodgrains for migrant workers and working capital loan for street vendors, among other incentives.
While PM Modi hailed the measures, the opposition termed them as jumla package. Meanwhile, the migrants continue to struggle in getting back home. Two accidents claimed the lives of 14 migrants and injured 60 others.
As the World Health Organization announced the coronavirus may never go away, the government announced draft guidelines for work from home, indicating that it is going to be part of work culture for the foreseeable time.
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