New Delhi, March 26: FM Nirmala Sitharam at a press conference announced a slew of measures, mainly to help the underprivileged sections of the society who have been affected due to the 21-days lockdown imposed in the country. One of the major announcements which she made today was that the government of India will pay the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) contribution, for both the employer and the employee (12 percent + 12 percent) over the next three months. This was announced for establishments that have upto 100 employees and 90 percent of them earn less than Rs 15,000 per month.
FM further announced that the government is ready to amend the regulation of EPF due to this pandemic so that workers can draw upto 75 percent non-refundable advance from credit in PF account or three months salary, whichever is lower. Coronavirus Economic Package: Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Free Food, Cash Under Rs 1.7 Lakh Crore PM Garib Kalyan Yojana For Poor, Insurance Cover For Doctors And Other Frontline Workers.
Check ANI tweet:
Govt ready to amend the regulation of EPF due to this pandemic so that workers can draw upto 75% non-refundable advance from credit in PF account or 3 months salary, whichever is lower: FM Sitharaman https://t.co/kHfRjlyZNm
— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2020
Some of the other measures announced by her today were 50 lakh as medical insurance cover per person for three months. The amount she specified was for everyone who is out saving the lives of people during the coronavirus outbreak, be it doctors, sanitation workers or nurses. The Finance Minister added saying that the regulators, Reserve Bank, and Finance Ministry are all working together to keep monitoring the developments and volatility in the stock market.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2020 02:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).