HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the highlights of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement of Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the poor to help them fight the battle against coronavirus: * Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for healthcare workers fighting COVID-19; 22 lakh people to be covered under the scheme * 80 crore poor people to get 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month over the next three months * 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders to get Rs 500 per month for next three months * Increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182; to benefit 13.62 crore families * An ex-gratia of Rs 1,000 to 3 crore poor senior citizen, poor widows and poor disabled * To front-load Rs 2,000 payment to farmers in first week of April under existing PM Kisan Yojana to benefit 8.7 crore farmers * Free gas cylinders will be provided under PM Ujjwala Yojana to 8 crore poor families for the next three months * PF contribution to be paid for next three months for workers earning below Rs 15,000 per month in units having less than 100 workers * To amend Employees' Provident Fund Regulations to include pandemic as the reason to allow advance of 75 per cent of the total amount or 3 months of the wages * States asked to use 'Welfare Fund for Building and Other Construction Workers' to support them to protect against economic disruptions

* States advised to utilise District Mineral Fund for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, and other requirements in preventing the spread of CVID-19.