The Union Cabinet which met virtually on Monday decided to suspend the operations of the MPLAD funds for a period of two years and spend the cumulative funds on building the health infrastructure in the country amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
Announcing the decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javdekar said that the entire amount of Rs 7900 crores will be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India and spent on tackling the coronavirus and on health infrastructure.
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The Union Budget of 2020-2021 had allocated less than 3% of the total GDP towards health.
The Members of both Houses of Parliament have allotted a sum of Rs 5 crores each every year as part of the MPLAD funds.
In another major development, the Cabinet has also approved an ordinance under Article 123 of the Indian Constitution and has decided to reduce the salaries of the Prime Minister, Ministers and MP’s by 30% for the upcoming year.
This is a major decision taken by the Cabinet Ministers headed by the Prime Minister in fighting this deadly virus and making more funds available for the health sector.