The much-awaited relief package for the poor announced by the Union finance minister on March 26 in the wake of the COVID-19 related lockdown in the country has entirely left out migrant labourers who have consistently fallen through the cracks of the social welfare system in India. They are ineligible for PDS rations at destination, face barriers in registering themselves on the Building and Construction Welfare Boards, and often lack IDs and paperwork to access any targeted schemes with eligibility criteria.

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