The Quint : May 25, 2020, 10:45 AM
New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has started donating Rs 50,000 from his monthly salary to PM-CARES fund, ANI reported.Quoting defence source, ANI reported that in a letter to the concerned authorities, the CDS mentioned that the amount should be deducted from his salary for the next one year and be deposited in the fund that was created to combat coronavirus pandemic.“After the letter was written, the first deduction of Rs 50,000 was done from the salary of April and deposited in the fund created for the fight against coronavirus, they said,” ANI report added.Earlier in March, Rawat, along with other defence officers had reportedly donated one-day salary to the fund.The sources further said that CDS’ decision of donating Rs 50,000 monthly could pave way in encouraging other senior officers to contribute in their own way to the combat COVID-19.Meanwhile, National Disaster Management Authority member Rajendra Singh has also reportedly donated 30 percent of his salary to the fund.On 13 May, the Prime Minister's Office had announced that the PM-CARES Fund Trust had allocated Rs 3,100 Crore for fight against COVID-19.Out of Rs 3,100 crores, a sum of approximately Rs 2,000 crore will be earmarked for the purchase of ventilators, Rs 1,000 crores will be used for care of migrant labourers and Rs 100 crores will be given to support vaccine development, the PMO had said.