As quoted by ANI, the official release by PM office stated that out of Rs 3,100 crores, a sum of approximately Rs 2,000 crore will be earmarked for the purchase of ventilators, Rs 1,000 crores will be used for care of migrant labourers and Rs 100 crores will be given to support vaccine development.
The announcements by PM CARES Fund Trust and Nirmala Sitharaman came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening announced a special economic package worth Rs 20 lakh crore to mitigate the economic damage caused by the novel Coronavirus.
The package, which is almost 10 per cent of India's GDP, includes Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s assistance and a Rs 1.74 lakh crore fund announced earlier. The package emphasizes on land, labour, liquidity, laws and will also focus on the farmers and the labourers who support the nation during the times of crisis.
PM CARES Fund has always been on the line of questioning by Opposition parties, who have been demanding independent audit from Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
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Earlier this week, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior spokesperson of the Congress party said: "Our only worry with PM Cares Fund is that it's not being spent on the victims of Covid-19 which use can be both direct and incidental."
Congress has been alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "hostile to the requirement" and "decisions to be taken during the Covid-19 pandemic for the welfare of the people".
According to pmindia.gov.in, the 'Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund' (PM CARES Fund)' was set up "keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust".
The Congress has also alleged that there are discrepancies in the PM CARE fund as there is no transparency and "secrecy has always been the way of the wicked!" "History will remember PM Modi as the Prime Minister who didn't care about people's lives," the Congress tweeted on Monday.
The party lashed out at the Prime Minister for the delay in providing a financial assistance package. The government hasn't planned anything before the announcement of the lockdown, the party alleged.