Cash was transferred to over 20 crore Jan Dhan during the coronavirus crisis, Smriti Irani said (File)

New Delhi:

The opposition used to “mock” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s digital India campaign but the exercise has turned out to be a “boon” during the coronavirus pandemic as welfare benefits have been directly sent to the people who need them, Union Minister Smriti Irani said Wednesday.

Speaking at a “virtual rally” for Uttarakhand, she said cash was transferred to over 20 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts and the poor received ration for free for three months.

Crores of people have also received benefits as part of Rs 1.7 lakh crore package announced by Narendra Modi, she said.

“The opposition had mocked the slogan of Digital India given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi six years back. But now Digital India is proving to be a boon during this global pandemic,” she said.

People’s faith in the government has increased under PM Modi as they are getting their welfare benefits straight in their bank accounts unlike earlier, she said.

Targeting the Congress, she said most of the money meant for development earlier used to be lost to corruption.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)