Union Govt. releases Rs. 890.32 cr as II installment of COVID-19 Financial
Package to States/UTs
New Delhi,(SPL Correspondent)Government of India has released Rs. 890.32 cr as the second installment of the COVID-19
Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package to 22 States/UTs. These include
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and
Daman & Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and
Sikkim. The amount of the financial assistance is based on the COVID-19 case load in these
States/UTs.
As part of the ‘Whole of Government’ approach where the Centre is leading the COVID-19
response and management, and supporting the States/UTs through technical and financial
resources, the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package was
announced by the Prime Minister. In his address to the nation on 24th March 2020, he said that
“The Central Government has provisioned 15 thousand crore rupees for treating Coronavirus
patients and strengthening the medical infrastructure of the country. This will allow for rapidly
ramping up the number of Corona testing facilities, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),
isolation Beds, ICU beds, ventilators and other essential equipment. Simultaneously, training of
medical and paramedical manpower will also be undertaken. I have requested the State
Governments to ensure that only healthcare is treated as their first and topmost priority now.”
The financial aid as part of the second installment will be used for strengthening of public health
facilities infrastructure for testing including procurement and installation of RT-PCR machines,
RNA extraction kits, TRUNAT & CBNAAT machines and BSL-II cabinets etc.; strengthening
of public health facilities infrastructure for treatment and development of ICU beds; installation
of oxygen generators, cryogenic oxygen tanks and medical gas pipelines in public health
