PM Greeb Kalyan Yojana puts money where mouth is, says ASSOCHAM

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Thursday said that the government has put the "money where the mouth is" by unveiling the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Greeb Kalyan Yojana, expressing confidence that similar packages would be announced for the trade and industry which too have been hit severely by the three-week nation-wide lockdown, following outbreak of Coronavirus.

New Delhi [India], Mar 26 : The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Thursday said that the government has put the "money where the mouth is" by unveiling the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Greeb Kalyan Yojana, expressing confidence that similar packages would be announced for the trade and industry which too have been hit severely by the three-week nation-wide lockdown, following outbreak of Coronavirus.

"The Rs 1.70 lakh crore package under the PM Greeb Kalyan Yojana is targeted towards giving relief to farmers, construction workers, women and their households. In this hour of great economic crisis, caused by the coronavirus, the government is putting the money where the mouth is," said ASSOCHAM secretary general, Deepak Sood.

"But since the mouth is getting wider with the three-week nationwide lockdown, the ASSOCHAM is confident that more such specific packages are in the works. We expect similar measures for the industry and trade in sync with the RBI with the foremost urgency for across-the-board forbearances on bank loans," he added.

Further lauding the role of doctors and other front-end health workers in dealing with the health crisis, Sood said "the Rs 50 lakh insurance coverage to the doctors and all other health employees, including the station workers, is saying: A Big Thank You to our combat force in the war against coronavirus; we whole-heartedly join the sense of gratitude towards them."

He added that along with free ration for three months over and above the existing quantity under the Public Distribution System, making cooking gas available to the beneficiaries of the Ujwala with no charges, is a great act of reaching out to the poor.

"Benefits to the poor senior citizens speaks about the human face of a government," said Sood.

He said, having announced widespread relief from the regulatory and statutory compliances and the welfare measures for the poor and the most vulnerable sections of the society, "We are sure that the government, under the resolute leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would be working on other specific measures for the most severely hit sectors like the hospitality, transport and trade."

"The ASSOCHAM is also confident that major relief is in the works for across-the-board forbearances for the bank loans: be it corporate or personal," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )