TN provided Rs 6,600 crore for buying medical equipment for COVID battle: Sitharaman

Chennai, June 25 () The Centre has provided Rs 6,600 crore to Tamil Nadu since April for procurement of medical equipment to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday. Besides, a total of Rs 2,825 crore worth assistance had been released to the state till June 14 through various welfare scheme components of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, she told BJP's Tamil Nadu unit workers addressing a virtual rally. "Considering that the government will need funds to buy medical equipment like ventilators, Rs 6,600 crore was given to Tamil Nadu in this fiscal within these three months to tackle COVID-19 and to see that people do not face any difficulty," the Minister said. Under the PM Garib Kalyan scheme, rice and wheat was supplied to Tamil Nadu and it reached 8.64 crore people. Also, in the Jan Dhan bank accounts, cumulatively, Rs 610 crore had been deposited into the accounts of 1.22 crore women beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu for the months of April and May by way of assistance of Rs 500 per month, Sitharaman said. A sum of Rs 1,937 crore had been disbursed to about 47,000 MSMEs in the state from the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme till June 11, she said. Sitharaman listed 'achievements' of the Narendra Modi government in the last one year in its second term. VGN VS VS