RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to Address Press at 10 AM after Govt's Relief Package

The address by the RBI Governor comes a day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a relief package for the poor and migrant workers

NEW DELHI : Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will address the media at 10 am on Friday.

The address by the RBI Governor comes a day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a press conference and announced a relief package for the poor and migrant workers amid a 21-day countrywide lockdown to mitigate the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Besides, she also announced an insurance cover worth ₹50 lakh per person for sanitation workers, ASHA workers, doctors, nurses and paramedics who are on the frontlines of the corona battle.

Under the MNREGA scheme, the wage rate has been increased from ₹182 to ₹202, amounting to an increase of ₹2000 per worker. This will benefit 5 crore people.

For old age pensioners and widows, an additional ex-gratia amount of ₹1,000 for the next three months available in two installments. It will benefit 3 crore widows and senior citizens.

The Union Minister also said that the EPFO regulation will be amended so that workers can draw up to 75 percent of the amount for their contingency expenditure. This will benefit 4.8 crore workers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Scrabbl staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)