In his sixth address to the country since the crisis of the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The government had made sure that no poor sleep on an empty stomach amid the lockdown. Thus, we had come up with the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana where 20 crore accounts have received Rs 31,000 crore in their Jan Dhan accounts.
He added, “The onset of Monsoon is our country is attended with a number of festivals, which leads to more expenses. Hence 80 crore people will be given free food grains till November end under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana.” “The success of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana goes to India's farmer and the taxpayer because, without them, the scheme to feed the needy would not have scaled heights,” he stated.
PM Modi also said that the Central government is also planning for 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme which benefits the poor immensely.
The Prime Minister started his address with a warning to the citizens urging them to not let their guard down as the COVID-19 threat is still not over and also the season of fever, cold and cough is about to start.
He said, “People had followed the norms of social distancing and personal hygiene during the lockdown. We need to continue to follow those rules even now. Be it the Pradhan of any village or the PM of the nation, no one is above the law.”
“We will continue our battle against COVID-19. We will work towards becoming Atma Nirbhar Bharat, we will be vocal for local. We will maintain do-gaz-zoori (2 metres) and will not be negligent,” he concluded.
PM Modi earlier had chaired a high-level review meeting to discuss the progress of a vaccine against the virus. He directed officials to assess different technology tools to safeguard well-organised and timely immunization in due course of time.
Meanwhile, India reported a surge of 18,522 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours which took the total of the country to 5,66,840 and death toll over 16,893.
India’s recovery rate also improved to 59.06 per cent. Also on the positive front, the gap between recovered patients and active cases has broadened to 1.19 lakh.
The government in its ‘Unlock Phase 2’ has declined to give further relaxations in major regions of the nation that remain closed. Schools, colleges, theatres, gyms, swimming pools, bars and metro services will remain shut until July 31, the new guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs stated.