As India entered the 6th day of its nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government has step-up its efforts to further prevent the virus from spreading rapidly and contain it as soon as possible. The novel coronavirus which originated from China has now entered India. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified that so far there have been more than 1,000 confirmed cases of infection and 29 people have lost their lives due to the virus.
In a call to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked organizations and individuals to donate some amount of money for the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency situation Fund (PM CARES Fund) to further strengthen the Centre’s efforts to tackle the situation.
Many private organizations like Mahindra & Mahindra and high-net-worth individuals like Ratan Tata have already contributed to the fund and also pledged to make ventilators and other essential medical equipment at cheaper rates for assisting the doctors and paramedics in their efforts.
It is not just the private sector that has come out and shown its humanitarian side, government officials across the country from various offices are now donating their one-day salary to the PM CARES Fund. Here is a list of a few government organizations who did their bit for the nation:
1.) Central Bureau of Investigation
As per CBI’s press release, “CBI officials have decided to donate their one-day salary to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) to help the Center in its efforts to fight coronavirus in the country.”
“In our organization, everyone from junior officials to director level employees are donating their one day salary. Currently, we have more than six thousand employees all over the country,” said a senior CBI official.
2.) Indian Revenue Services
The IRS, which has more than 4,000 employees in its Income Tax department alone, has also decided to answer PM’s rescue call by donating their one-day salaries.
“All India IRS Association is happy to share that apart from what our officers are doing in their individual capacity, the IRS will also contribute collectively as a service and demonstrate strength in numbers to the fight against Covid-19. We had sent a request to all the Pr. CCITs requesting feedback on a proposal for making a contribution by all IRS Officers to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for fighting COVID-19. All our IRSA (Indian Revenue Service Association) chapters and HoDs are requested that suitable arrangements may be made by them so that Drawing and Disbursing Officers of all regions can deduct at least one day’s (or more, if so advised by officers) salary of the IRS officers posted in their charge for contribution to for the battle against COVID-19,” IRS all India Association said in a press release.
3.) Ministry of Defence
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has recently approved a proposal for the contribution of one day’s salary by employees of the Defence Ministry to the PM-CARES Fund.
According to a ministry estimate, around ₹500Cr will be collectively given by the Defence Ministry to the relief fund from various wings, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, a number of defence PSUs and others.
The contribution of the employees, however, will be voluntary and if any ministry employee wants to opt-out, he or she will be exempted.
4.) Central Reserve Police Force
The country’s largest paramilitary force, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has also decided to donate one day’s salary to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund in order to help the Centre fight the Covid-19 outbreak. Over 3.5 lakh personnel have contributed to the relief fund by donating their salary.
According to a CRPF statement, “It is submitted that CRPF personnel have decided to make a humble contribution of one day’s salary to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. We are dutifully committed to stand firmly with our nation in this challenging time of Covid-19 pandemic.”
5.) Railway Ministry
Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal recently said that the Railway Ministry will donate ₹151Cr to the PM-CARES fund to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Following PM @NarendraModi Ji’s call, I, & MoS Suresh Angadi will donate 1 month’s salary & 13 lakh railway & PSU employees will donate 1 day’s salary, equal to ₹151 cr, to PM-CARES fund. My grateful thanks to my colleagues & we all pray that our country remains safe and healthy,” said the Union minister in a tweet.
The PM-CARES Fund was set up on March 28 and contributions from corporate houses, industrialists and Bollywood actors started pouring in immediately in an all-out effort to fight the deadly Covid-19 disease.
The prime minister is the chairman of the new public charitable trust and its members include Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Sandeep is a journalism and mass communication graduate with a keen interest in politics and business. He is a part of Research & Content team at HrNxt.com.