PM announces 5 stimulus packages of Tk 32b for poor

Staff Correspondent: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday announced five more stimulus packages worth about Tk 3,200 crore (Tk 32 billion) to help low-income people hit hard by the ongoing restrictions imposed to check further transmission of the Coronavirus.
PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim informed of the matter.
Under the new incentives, Tk 450 crore has been allocated for day-laborers (14,37,389), transport workers (2,35,033), small traders (50,445) and shipping workers (1,603) who will receive Tk 2500 each in cash.
Tk 150 crore has been allocated for special open market sale (OMS) centers to be set up at 813 places across the country from July 25 to August 7 for 14 days to help the low-income people in urban areas (with 20,000 metric tons rice and 14,000 metric tons flour).
Besides, Tk 100 crore is allocated for special assistance in favor of the Deputy Commissioners for providing food assistance in response to the request of the public on telephone number 333.
Tk 1,500 crore is allocated for Palli Sanchay Bank, Karmasangsthan Bank and PKSF for financing job creation activities in rural areas with the additional allocation of Tk 3,200 crore for the purpose of providing loan assistance (at 4% interest).
In addition, Tk 1,000 crore has been allocated for providing Working Capital Loan Assistance at 4 percent interest through the banking system for the purpose of paying the salaries, allowances of the employees of the hotels, motels and theme parks in the tourism sector.
Earlier in the last year, the prime minister announced a total of 23 stimulus packages of Tk 124,053 crore to keep rolling the wheels of country’s economy against the back drop of Covid-19 outbreak.
When the first wave of Covid-19 hit the country, the Prime Minister provided cash support of Tk 2,500 each to 36.50 lakh poor families and vulnerable groups across the country.
This year, the premier in the second phase of financial assistance also distributed Tk 2,500 to some 36.50 lakh families hit hard by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first wave of Covid-19, a total of nearly 2.5 crore people including day-labourers, transport workers, hawkers, rickshaw pullers, school and madrasa teachers, students, Imams and Muazzins along with people of other religious organizations, journalists and other low-income people were brought under the government’s assistance due to prime minister’s humanitarian assistance initiative.