Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Thursday said the Modi government's Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package misses the real sufferers of economic disruption caused by COVID-19 and lockdown.
The government on Thursday announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus that included free foodgrain and cooking gas to poor for three months, and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens as it looked to ease the economic impact of the nationwide lockdown.
"Package announced today will provide succour to out of jobs people. It misses the real sufferers of economic disruption caused by COVID-19 and lockdown. Over 8 crore unorganised businesses and 10 crore affected workers need the support of 1 lakh crore," Garg said in a tweet.
While over 80 crore poor ration card holders will each get 5 kg of wheat or rice and one kg of preferred pulses free of cost every month for the next three months, 20.4 crore women having Jan Dhan bank accounts would get one-time cash help of Rs 1,500 spread over three months.
Over 8.3 crore poor women, who were handed out free cooking gas connections since 2016, will get free LPG refills for the next three months, while poor senior citizens, widows and disabled will get ex-gratia cash of Rs 1,000.
The package included advancing the payment of one-third of the Rs 6,000 a year pre-2019 general election cash dole scheme for farmers, government contributions to retirement funds for the next three months of small companies with 90 per cent of staff earning less than Rs 15,000, and a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover to healthcare workers.
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