WhatsApp Text On "Rs 4,000 To Everyone" Under Covid Scheme False: Government's Fact-check

The government has clarified that a WhatsApp message claiming that it is providing Rs 4,000 to everyone under a Covid relief scheme is false and that it is not providing such an assistance.

In a clarification tweeted by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check handle, the government said, "It is being claimed in a WhatsApp message that the Indian government is, under a Corona Care Fund Scheme, giving a sum of Rs 4,000 to everyone."

"This is a false claim. The government is running no such scheme," it added.

एक #WhatsApp मैसेज में दावा किया जा रहा है कि भारत सरकार 'कोरोना केयर फंड योजना' के तहत सभी को ₹4000 की सहायता राशि प्रदान कर रही है।#PIBFactCheck: यह दावा #फ़र्ज़ी है। भारत सरकार द्वारा ऐसी कोई योजना नहीं चलाई जा रही है। pic.twitter.com/SSLK6x66He

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) July 2, 2021

This comes against the backdrop of economic distress across the country owing to the pandemic and the restrictions imposed to control it.

India's GDP contracted by 7.3 per cent in the last fiscal, with the last quarter clocking a growth of just 1.6 per cent even after most sectors had been opened up. Thereafter, a second wave of infections forced most parts of the country to go into a second round of lockdowns and dealt a fresh blow to businesses already reeling under losses suffered last year.

Even as economic sectors open up, the threat of a possible third wave remains.

Since last year, the government has announced several initiatives aimed at helping the economy recover.

The latest among these are eight new schemes announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on June 28.

The measures include a Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for the Covid-affected and an additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme launched as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat package last year.