Govt. released Rs. 890.32 Cr as second installment of COVID Financial Package to States/UTs

The central government has released Rs 890.32 crore as the second instalment of the COVID 19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package to 22 states and union territories in the country. The amount was decided based on the severity of the COVID 19 situation in the states and the Union Territories in the country.

Details

This second instalment is going to be utilized for strengthening the public health infrastructure for testing including procurement and installation of RT-PCR machines, RNA extraction kits, TRUNAT and CBNAAT machines and BS-II cabinets. Among the states that have been given the financial assistance include Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, etc.

Apart from this, the funds will also be used for improving the facilities such as the treatment and development of ICU beds, installation of oxygen generators, cryogenic oxygen tanks and medical gas pipelines in the public health facilities within the territory of the states and the UTs.

Background

The first instalment of Rs 3000 crore was released in April 2020 by the central government to all the states and the UTs to aid and enable them to increase the testing facilities, improve the hospital infrastructure, conduct surveillance activities along with procurement of essential medicines and other supplies. This is part of Rs 15000 crores earmarked for treating COVID 19 patients and strengthening the medical infrastructure of the country.

Impact

As part of this package, the states and UTs have been provided with 580342 isolation beds, 136068 oxygen supported beds and 31255 ICU beds. Also, 8688357 testing kits and 7988366 Viral Transport Media have been procured by them. 96557 human resources have been added in the states and UTs. It has also given mobility support to 11821 staff members.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020