Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on June 30. His address will come amid an ongoing stand-off between India and China at Ladakh’s Galwan valley and a surge in coronavirus cases that has shown little sign of slowing down.
Read Also, MHA issues new Guidelines for Unlock 2
PM Narendra Modi on June 30 addressed the nation and announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of November. We are entering Unlock 2.0 and the season of cough, fever and cold is also about to start. In such a situation, I urge countrymen to take care of themselves, PM Modi stated.
Read Also, Unlock 2: Schools, cinemas to remain shut; domestic flights, trains to be expanded in calibrated way
The PM, Unlock 1 saw some people drop their guard. This is the time we need to be even more careful. Please don’t drop your guard, he added. The PM, In comparison to other countries across the globe, India is still in a very stable situation, in the battle against Covid-19. Timely decisions and measures have played a great role.
Under PMGKY – Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 20 crore accounts have received 31,000 crore in their Jan Dhan Accounts, he asserted. He said that, PM Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended till the end of November, extension to cost over Rs 90 thousand crore, he stated.
During lockdown, rules were strictly abided by. Now, governments, local administration and citizens again have to show similar caution. We need to have a special focus on containment zones. If you see someone flouting norms, tell them to not do so, he added.
PM addresses nation and announces extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
Helping hand to the poor
The PM, emphasized that provision of food to those in need during lockdown has been the foremost priority of the country. As soon as lockdown was announced, the government brought about PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, under which a package of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the poor was announced, he added.
The PM noted that in the last three months, Rs 31,000 crore has been transferred in the Jan Dhan accounts of almost 20 crore poor families, Rs 18,000 crore has been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 9 crore farmers and Rs 50,000 crore is being spent on PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, which has been started to provide employment opportunities, he emphasized .
Extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November
He observed that the enormity of the decision to provide free ration for three months to more than 80 crore people ie providing 5 kg free rice/wheat to each member of the family, along with providing 1 kg pulses to each family, per month, has made the entire world take notice. The number of people who were provided free ration is several times the population of many large countries, he added.
He also noted that with the commencement of the rainy season, most of the work takes place in the agriculture sector. Also,several festivals take place one after the other, including Guru Purnima, Rakshabandhan, Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Dussehra, Deepawali, Chhath Puja, among others.
Read Also, PM expresses concern over Corona negligence
Following the speech, He announced that keeping in mind that requirements as well as expenditure increase during this time, the government has decided to extend PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till Deepawali and Chhath Puja, ie the scheme will continue to remain applicable from July till the end of November. During this five-month period, more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per month. Along with providing 5kg free rice/wheat to each member of a family, 1 kg free whole chana will also be provided to each family per month.
The government will spend more than Rs 90,000 crore towards the extension of the scheme, the Prime Minister said, adding that if the amount spent towards it in the previous three months is added together, a total of almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore would be spent towards the scheme.
Read Also, PM’s address in the 13th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat 2.0’ on 28.06.2020
He credited and thanked the hard-working farmers and honest tax payers for making it possible for the government to procure and distribute free food grains. He underlined that the country is moving towards the institution of ‘one nation, one ration card’, which will be of immense benefit to the poor who travel to other states in search of work.
Staying safe during Unlock 2
He noted that the shift of the fight against coronavirus to Unlock 2 coincides with the weather which results in several ailments. He asked everyone to take care of their health. He observed that due to timely decisions like lockdown, it has been possible to save the lives of lakhs of people and the death rate in the country is amongst the lowest in the world.
However, irresponsible and negligent behavior has been on the rise during Unlock 1, he stated, adding that earlier people were more careful about usage of mask, washing hands for more than 20 seconds several times during the day and maintaining ‘do gazdoori’. He emphazied that when more being more careful is necessary, rise of negligence is a cause of concern, he asserted.
Read Also, India’s COVID-19 tally climbs to 5,66,840, Tamil Nadu surpasses Delhi in case count
The PM asserted that regulations need to be followed with the same seriousness as during Lockdown, especially in the Containment Zones. He exhorted people to spread awareness amongst those not following such rules and regulations, giving example of the PM of a country being fined Rs 13000 for not wearing mask in a public place. He stated that local administration in India will need to act with same alacrity, since no one, including the Prime Minister, is above the rule of law.
Read Also, Text of PM’s address to the nation
Looking ahead
The PM stated that in the coming times, government will continue to take further steps to empower the poor and the needy. Economic activities will also be enhanced, with due precautions in place. He reiterated the pledge to work towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and to be vocal for local, while also asking people to be careful use mask/face cover and continue following the mantra of maintaining ‘do gaz doori’.
