Covid relief schemes get longer life as govt begins process for extension

Among other schemes, the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme was recently extended until June 30 or until Rs 3 trillion is disbursed before taking a call to widen the plan or extend it

Even as the wait for the next round of measures has begun, the government has initiated the process of extending key schemes that were introduced as part of the Covid relief package last year.
 
For instance, the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was recently extended until June 30 or until Rs 3 trillion is disbursed before taking a call to widen the plan or extend it.
 
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package insurance scheme, that provides cover of Rs 50 lakh for fatalities of health workers battling Covid-19, has been renewed for one year starting March 24.

 

The insurance scheme, implemented from March 30, 2020, to provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh to health workers fighting Covid, lapsed on March 24, 2021. The scheme was initially implemented for 90 days from the day of its launch and extended thrice till March 24. The Union Health Ministry in a circular said the scheme had been extended for a period of one-year. The extension came after protest by Opposition parties as the scheme lapsed and there was no signal from the government on whether the same would be extended. The second wave of Covid also necessitated extension of the scheme.

 
That apart, the Central government extended the deadline for registration under the EPFO contribution scheme for eligible employers and new employees up to June 30, 2021.
 
The Centre had launched the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) to incentivise creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid recovery phase by providing financial assistance to employers of establishments registered with EPFO to recruit unemployed persons including giving re-employment during the pandemic.