New Delhi : The centre has announced grant of ex gratia relief to the families of the those who died due to novel coronavirus.

While the Home ministry in its notification announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia for the families of deceased person and those involved in the relief operations in the containment of Covid-19, as it decided to treat Covid-19 as a notified disaster so that states can be provided aid under the ‘State Disaster Response Fund’ (SDRF).

SDRF is the primary fund available with states for responses to notified disasters like floods, earthquakes etc.

A state government may use up to 10 per cent of the funds available under the SDRF for providing immediate relief to the victims of an event which is considered to be a ‘disaster’ within the local context in the State.