Central Govt Urges Employees To Donate One Day's Salary To PM Cares Fund To Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

The government has urged its employees to contribute one day's salary of April 2020, which is payable in May, to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after ministers were asked to contribute part of their salary for the same cause.

The amount deducted from the salary of employees will be contributed to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund).

In a circular, the Department of Revenue claimed that it has decided to appeal to the officers and staff of the Department to contribute their one day's salary each month till March 2021 to the PM CARES Fund.

"It has been decided to appeal to all officers and staff to contribute their one day's salary every month till March 2021 to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM-CARES) Fund to aid the Government's efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic," the circular read.

"Any officer or staff having objection to it may intimate Drawing & Disbursing Officer, Department of Revenue in writing mentioning his/her employee code latest by 20.04.2020," the circular added.

The initiative came as a surprise to officials as requests for such contributions come through typically the employees' association.

"No one actually asks. And one day per month for a year is 12 days. That is 40% of a monthly salary. An average employee of the Government of India gets between ₹50,000 and ₹80,000 per month. That's one salary and maybe three dependents. So it's tough on them," The Hindu quoted an official as saying.

Barring those involved actively in the fight against COVID-19, the employees of other departments may also have to contribute one day's pay from their monthly salary to the Fund, but this may be voluntary, Financial Express reported. Anyone unwilling to donate were urged to submit their refusal in writing.

After a nationwide lockdown that was declared on 24th March, with regard to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi via twitter announced the construction of a new public charitable trust, Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund).

The Centre and several State governments announced relief packages to those who are affected by the lockdown, such as a 1.7 lakh crore relief package for the poor 'aiming at providing a safety net for those hit the hardest.'

Also Read: Coronavirus Outburst: What Is PM CARES Fund? What Financial Challenges Lie Ahead?