Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched six crash course programmes to train and upskill around one lakh frontline workers to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi urged people to remain cautious, stressing that the virus is “still amongst us” and the possibility of it mutating is also there. He also said the government is committed to providing free Covid vaccination for everyone starting June 21.
“In the second wave of coronavirus, we saw what kind of challenges the ever-changing form of this virus can bring before us,” PM Modi said.
The six programmes – called ‘Customized Crash Course’ – are special schemes under the ‘Skill India’ initiative and are a part of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0. A financial outlay of Rs 276 crore has been allocated for the programme.
According to the Centre, frontline workers will be trained for six roles – home care support, basic care support, advanced care support, emergency care support, sample collection support, and medical equipment support.
The Centre on 8 June announced that it will provide free COVID vaccines to all above 18 years of age from 21 June and take back control of inoculations from states, reversing its policy change enforced on 1 May.
India on Thursday, 17 June, reported 67,208 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the country to 2,97,00,313. The death toll increased by 2,330 to 3,81,903.