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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday, 27 March, announced a Rs 2,200-crore financial package to assist the weaker sections of the society, which are grappling under the unprecedented lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The package will benefit about 1.64 crore people of the state’s total population of 4.5 crore.
Patnaik said that all the 94 lakh poor families covered under the food security scheme will get financial assistance of Rs 1,000 each. The Odisha government has started providing foodgrains for three months to all the beneficiaries, he added.
It is also providing advance social security pension for three months to the beneficiaries. The state will bear an expenditure of around Rs 932 crore towards this measure, the chief minister said.
Three people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha.
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