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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the creation of an assistance and emergency situation relief fund where people can contribute and help in the government's fight against coronavirus.
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund will go a long way in creating a healthier India, he said on Twitter.
'People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India's war against COVID-19,' he said, adding the fund has been constituted respecting that spirit.
'It is my appeal to my fellow Indians, kindly contribute to the PM-CARES Fund. This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations, if they occur in the times ahead,' he said.
A statement posted on his official website said while the prime minister is the chairman of the new public charitable trust, its members include the defence minister (Rajnath Singh), home minister (Amit Shah) and the finance minister (Nirmala Sitaraman).
In India, like the rest of the world, the spread of coronavirus has been alarming and is posing severe health and economic ramifications for our country, it said.
The Prime Minister's Office has been receiving spontaneous and innumerable requests for donations to support the government in the wake of this emergency.
'Distress situations, whether natural or otherwise, demand expeditious and collective action for alleviating the suffering of those affected, mitigation/control of damage to infrastructure and capacities etc,' the statement said.
Keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of 'Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund' (PM CARES Fund)' has been set up, it said.
'PM Narendra Modi has always believed and shown in actions that public participation is the most effective way to mitigate any issue and this is yet another example.
'This fund will enable micro-donations as a result of which a large number of people will be able to contribute with smallest of denominations,' the statement said.
People can visit www.pmindia.gov.in to make contributions using credit and debit cards, UPI, net banking and RTGS or NEFT, it said.
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All BJP MPs to release Rs 1 crore from MPLAD
Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Saturday announced that all party MPs will release Rs 1 crore from their annual development fund to the central relief fund to fight coronavirus pandemic.
In his tweets, he also said that all party MPs and MLAs will donate their one month salary towards it as well.
'All MPs & MLAs of Bharatiya Janata Party will donate their one month remuneration/salary to the central relief fund to support the fight against Covid19. All MPs of BJP will release Rs 1 crore from their MPLADS fund to the central relief fund in support to fight against Covid-19,' he said.
The party at present has 386 MPs -- 303 in Lok Sabha and 83 in Rajya Sabha. An MP gets Rs 5 crore every year as part of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
As part of his party's ongoing exercise to help the poor during the lockdown, Nadda also spoke to BJP leaders from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to oversee the relief work, an official statement said.
The leaders included state and district chiefs, MPs and MLAs besides other senior functionaries as Nadda told them about various measures announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the fight against the coronavirus.
Modi is working like a 'statesman', Nadda said, asking party leaders to ensure that nobody goes hungry during the lockdown.
The BJP has announced that its workers will feed 5 crore poor people daily during the 21-day lockdown.