Govt launches mega cash transfer to fight Covid-19

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

04.04.2020

New Delhi/ Mumbai: The government on Friday launched one of the largestever cash transfer schemes, including the deposit of over ₹30,000 crore into the account of woman Jan Dhan account holders as well as ₹5,000 crore into the linked accounts of eight crore poor households with LPG connections provided under ‘Ujjwala’.

On Day One of the PM Jan Dhan transfer scheme ₹500 was deposited into the accounts of four crore women, with the government ordering banks to ensure that the dormant accounts were reactivated to ensure that no beneficiary was left out. The mega exercise, which will see deposits based on the last digit of the account number, saw several thousand account holders visit their bank branches and nearest ATMs, although business correspondents have been pressed into service to ensure door-step delivery of benefits. All accounts are to get the funds by April 9.

While banks said that they had made all the arrangements for orderly withdrawal, there were instances of overcrowding. Some branches also faced pressure because it coincided with pensioners coming to collect their monthly pension.

Similarly, the transfer of funds for purchase of three free cooking gas cylinders for April has begun. Staterun fuel retailers will transfer funds by the fourth of May and June as advance so that beneficiaries can buy LPG cylinders under a ₹1.7 lakhcrore relief package for the poor, which includes free cooking gas cylinder for three months. The Ujjwala consumers will have the option of getting three regular refills of 14.2kg or up to eight cylinders of 5kg, commonly known as ‘Chhotua’.

Full report on www.toi.in

GOVT AID: The mega exercise, which will see deposits based on the last digit of the account number, saw thousands of account holders visit their bank branches and nearest ATMs