The central government will spend Rs 26,000 crore ($3.5 billion) to provide free food grain for two months to people covered under the state-run food programme, the food ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Will provide a total of 5 kilograms of wheat or rice per person per month in May & June
Move to “ameliorate hardships faced by the poor and needy due to economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak”
India has been reporting a record spike in coronavirus cases for two weeks even as the government accelerated its vaccination drive to fight the world’s fastest-growing outbreak.
Authorities have administered more than 13 crore jabs so far, under the first two phases of the immunisation drive. The government will open up Covid-19 vaccinations to everyone above 18 years of age from May 1, under it’s third phase. The goal is to cover about 25 crore people with two doses by July.
Meanwhile, Canada, UAE and Singapore join the U.K. and others to ban travelers from India to prevent the spread of the massive outbreak.
