COVID-19: Centre reaches out to migrants with free ration

The Centre on Thursday said it will provide free foodgrains to about eight crore migrant workers who do not have ration cards and subsequently make the document portable to enable them to buy foodgrains anywhere in the country.

The government also promised to launch next month a Rs 5,000 crore special credit facility for street vendors, who have been badly hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman — who unveiled the second tranche of relief measures, part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package — said the PDS ration card will be made portable by August and will benefit about 63 crore people in 23 states.

Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian had suggested portability of ration cards, making them person-based instead of place-based to help migrant labourers access benefits at their place of work.

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The free-ration-for-migrants scheme, on which the government is spending Rs 3,500 crore, was widely hailed but also came in for criticism for the lengthy delay in announcing it, considering that thousands of migrant workers were stranded for days without access to ration.

“Yes, people are suffering, many are walking back to their homes. We understand migrants are moving. We are committed to extending all benefits to them,” Nirmala said, as the government sought to contain the damage following its handling of the migrant crisis.

Under the free ration scheme, migrant workers will be given 5 kg wheat/rice per person and 1 kg chana per family/month for two months.

She said the government is also providing jobs under MGNREGA to migrants returning to their homes. At least 14.62 crore person-days of work has been generated till May 13, on which the Centre has spent Rs 10,000 crore in the COVID period, Nirmala said.

In addition, the minister said the government was working on making the right to minimum wage, which covers 30% of the workforce at present, universal. She said the government is also looking to bring gig economy workers under social security net and re-skilling retrenched workers.

Work is also in progress to provide housing at affordable rent to urban migrants by converting government-funded housing in cities into affordable rental housing complexes under PPP mode, the minister said.

Altogether, nine measures related to migrant workers, street vendors, housing, employment generation in tribal pockets and farmers were announced on Thursday.

For farmers, Nirmala said NABARD will extend additional refinance support of Rs 30,000 crore for crop loan requirement. This is over and above the Rs 90,000 crore to be provided by NABARD through the normal refinance route during this year.

Apart from that, a Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit boost will be provided to 2.5 crore farmers through Kisan credit cards.

The Finance Minister also announced a Rs 70,000 crore boost to the housing sector that will kickstart sectors such as steel, cement and create jobs.