All members of India’s parliament including the country’s Union Cabinet will take a salary cut of 30% for a year in view of the coronavirus outbreak and its adverse impact on the economy, Scroll.in reports.
India’s president, vice president, and all governors will also give up part of their salaries.
The money will go towards the country’s consolidated fund, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Monday.
Javadekar said the Union Cabinet has approved the ordinance amending the salary, allowances and pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954, to reduce allowances and pension by 30% from April 1 for a year.
The president, vice president, and all governors have also voluntarily decided to take a cut in the wages as part of their “social responsibility”, he added.
The Union Cabinet also suspended the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme for two years in order to manage the financial burden of the pandemic, Javadekar said.
A sum of Rs7,900 crore from the scheme will now go to the Consolidated Fund of India, he added, according to News18.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the maturity of Indians for cooperating during the lockdown.
In an address to his party workers on the outfit’s 40th foundation day, Modi said India took timely steps against the coronavirus since it had understood the seriousness of the disease. He added that it would be a long war against the disease and that people could not give up.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 4,067 on Monday and the toll reached 109, the health ministry said.
This was India’s largest single day spike – 693 cases and 32 deaths – in the last 24 hours.
