Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat has started donating Rs 50,000 from his salary to be deducted every month for the next one year to the PM-CARES fund created to battle coronavirus.
Defence sources were quoted as saying by news agency ANI that in March, the CDS had written to the authorities concerned that for the next one year, Rs 50,000 be deducted from his salary and deposited in the PM-CARES fund.
After the letter was written, the first deduction of Rs 50,000 was done from the April salary and deposited in the fund. The CDS had also donated one-day salary for the PM-CARES fund along with all other defence services’ personnel who had donated in March soon after the fund was started.
The Defence Ministry employees have been given an option of donating one-day salary every month for the next one year on a voluntary basis, ANI reported.
National Disaster Management Authority member and former Coast Guard Chief Rajendra Singh has also donated 30 per cent of his salary to the fund.
About 10 days ago, the fund decided to allocate Rs 3,100 crore for fight against Covid-19, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
Out of the Rs 3,100 crore, nearly Rs 2,000 crore will be earmarked for the purchase of ventilators and Rs 1,000 crore for care of migrant labourers, it said. Another Rs 100 crore will be given to support coronavirus vaccine development, the statement said.
The trust formed on March 27 is headed by the prime minister. The other ex-officio members of the trust are the defence minister, the home minister and the finance minister.
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