Morning Digest | 81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year; Union Cabinet approves pending OROP revision for veterans, and more
The Hindu
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81 crore people to get free foodgrains for one year
The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to provide free foodgrains to all 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for one year. The beneficiary families which used to pay ₹1 for coarse cereals, ₹2 for wheat and ₹3 for rice per kg will now get 35kg of foodgrains free for the next one year and others will get 5kg for free in a month till December 2023. The Centre has estimated an additional amount of ₹2 lakh crore for the scheme.
Union Cabinet approves pending One-Rank-One-Pension revision for veterans
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a pending pension revision for pensioners from the armed forces and their families under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme, which has been delayed since July 2019. Arrears will be paid from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022 which is approximately ₹23,638 crore as per the applicable dearness relief, the Defence Ministry said.
COVID-19 | Experts say India may not see ‘substantial wave’ if there are no new variants developing in China
While there is some panic in India following a significant surge of COVID-19 cases in China, experts point out that India continues to show a sustained decreasing trajectory of cases in the last few months. It is unlikely to see a fresh “substantial wave” if there are no new variants in China as a result of ongoing circulation, they feel.
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