PM Modi, lawmakers agree 30 pct salary cut as India deals with coronavirus

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top government figures will take a 30 percent salary cut this year, a government minister said on Monday, as the country tackles the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the economy.

Modi has imposed a three-week lockdown to halt the spread of the virus, but it has left millions without jobs and many of the more vulnerable sections of a society struggling for food and shelter. The federal cabinet has approved a decree under which Modi, along with President Ram Nath Kovind, state governors and members of parliament, will take the salary cut as part of their social responsibility, cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.