Ten million people belonging to low-income groups will get a Rs12,000 four-month stipend in a lump sum under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s relief package announced by the federal government on Tuesday to mitigate adverse impact of coronavirus on their family budget.
According to a document of the Finance Division, the government would provide Rs144 billion under the package and that money would be in addition to already allocated funds for the government’s programme for the poor, called Ehsaas. The prime minister has also announced Rs200 billion for daily wage workers and it is expected that the amount may also be distributed through provinces. However, the strategy for the disbursement of that amount is still being devised. 1.5 trillion relief package The prime minister had announced Rs1.15 trillion relief package to help the poor and members of low-income group, agriculture, export and industrial sectors amid adverse impact of coronavirus pandemic on the country’s economy. According to the document, of the total 10 million beneficiaries of the government decision, five million people are those who are already getting the monthly stipend under Ehsaas Kafalat while three million people are those whose monthly income is Rs20,000. The other two million people are daily wage workers and vendors who are at present not registered with the programme, will be covered under the PM’s relief package.