The next of kin of those who lost their lives in various parts of the country due to the earthquake on Saturday shall receive an enhanced compensation of Rs 4 lakh from the National Disaster Relief Fund, said an official release.
The above amount is in addition to the compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those killed. A compensation of Rs 50,000 has also been announced for the seriously injured.
The move follows the Union Government's decision to revise the guidelines for the National Disaster Relief Fund, and raise this compensation amount from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, in the event of death due to natural calamity.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a follow-up meeting today, to review the progress of relief and rescue operations following the major earthquake in Nepal yesterday.
The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Manohar Parrikar, the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, the Additional Principal Secretary PK Mishra, and senior officials from the Government, IMD, and NDRF.
The Prime Minister had chaired a high-level meeting yesterday on the subject.
The Prime Minister was briefed on the work being done by various agencies involved in relief and rescue work, both in India and Nepal. He was also briefed on the situation arising out of the major aftershock that occurred earlier today.
The Prime Minister emphasised the need for further increasing the pace of search and rescue operations, and evacuation of stranded people from Nepal. The Prime Minister directed that in addition to the air route, the road route should also be used for evacuating stranded people at the earliest. He stressed on the need for ensuring coordination among various agencies involved in relief and rescue operations.
The Prime Minister also said that highest priority be accorded to food and water supplies, including milk powder, to the affected areas.