Fin Min grants Rs 6,195 crore to 14 states

Following the recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission, the Centre on Monday released the second equated monthly installment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant. This amounted to Rs 6,195.08 crore, which was distributed by the Finance Ministry among 14 states. An equal first installment of the grant was released by the Union government to states on March 14.

The financial aid was granted with the aim to help state governments take preventive and mitigation measures for containment of the Covid-19, including setting up quarantine facilities, sample collection and screening and setting up additional testing laboratories. “This would provide them additional resources during the Corona crisis,” the ministry stated. 

Further, states can also use the funds to cover cost of consumables, and purchase of personal protection equipment (PPE) for healthcare, municipal, police and fire authorities, besides purchase of thermal scanners, ventilators, air purifiers, and consumables for government hospitals.

The amount released on Monday was distributed as follows: Kerala (Rs 1,276 crore), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 952 crore), Punjab (Rs 638 crore), Assam (Rs 631 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 491 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs 423 crore), and West Bengal (Rs 417 crore).