Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday revealed the second installment of measures for the government’s “Atmanirbhar (self-sufficient) campaign”. With a view to reviving the economy closed by coronavirus lockdown, PM Narendra Modi announced an economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore.
Sitharaman in his first installment on Wednesday announced a bail-free automatic loan of Rs 3 lakh crore for businesses including MSMEs, as well as liquidity facilities of Rs 30,000 crore for NBFCs among other measures.
The main points of address of the Finance Ministers are as follows:
- The government provides additional emergency loan assistance of Rs 30,000 crore for farmers through NABARD and about 3 crore farmers will benefit from it. This is more than Rs 90,000 crore to be provided by NABARD through the normal refinance route during this year.
- The Center will give a concessional loan of about 2 lakh crore rupees through Kisan Credit Card to about 2.5 crore farmers. A special campaign will be conducted for PM-farmer beneficiaries, fishermen, and animal husbandry farmers.
- The center will supply free food grains to all the migrants for the next 2 months. Non-card holders (expatriates without NFSA or state card beneficiaries) will be given 5 kg rice / wheat and 1 kg gram per family for two months.
This will benefit around 8 crore migrants and the central government will bear the entire cost of Rs 3,500 crore.
- Public distribution ration cards can be used in any ration shops regardless of the state. One Nation One Ration Card ‘will be implemented and we assure 100% national portability of these cards by March 31, 2021.
- By May 13, we have already created 16.82 million person-jobs, which is an enrollment of 60-50% more people than last May. Migrant workers going back to their states are being actively enrolled in the MGNREGA.
- Street vendors have been given a special credit facility of Rs 5,000 crore. Initial working capital of Rs 10,000 will be provided to them.
- Digital payments will be promoted for street vendors through monetary rewards and working capital credits.
- We want to give to the lower class of middle-class groups who earn 6 to 18 lakh rupees annually. A Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) was introduced by the government in 2017 and scheduled to end in March 2020, being extended by March 2021 and apart from the 3.3 lakh families who have benefitted so far, another 2.5 Lakhs of people can benefit from this affordable housing scheme. This will promote employment generation as demand for steel construction, construction materials will increase.
- Under the Mudra Shishu loan (Rs. 50,000 or less), interest subvention assistance of 2% will be given to the borrowers after the expiry of the period of 3 months. More than 3 crore people will get its benefit under the Shishu category.
- The government has allowed state governments to set up a shelter for migrants and use SDRF to provide food, water to them. We are conscious, we are participating in migrants and giving them in different ways.
- The government will launch a scheme for affordable rental housing for migrant workers / urban poor for easy living by converting government-funded housing in cities to affordable rental housing complexes (ARHC) under PPP mode through concessional means.
- The Rs 6,000 crore Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds will be set up under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund, Act 2016 to generate employment opportunities in urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
- 12,000 self-help groups have produced 3 crore masks and 1.2 lakh liters of sanitizer, giving additional employment opportunities to the urban poor.
- 10,000 crore has been spent in the last two months on the creation of 14.62 crore man-days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to help migrant workers. As of 13 May, 2.33 crore salary seekers have been offered work.
- From March 1, the interest subvention for loans to farmers and early repayment incentives on crop loans has been extended till May 31, 2020.
- 25 lakh new Kisan Credit Cards have been approved with a loan limit of Rs 25,000 crore.
- 7,200 new SHG groups have been created for the urban poor.
- We are proposing a national floor-wise wage rate to maintain uniform wage rates across states. Currently, the minimum wage only applies to 30 percent of workers.
- The government has also proposed to issue letters of appointment to all workers to promote formalities and annual health checkups for all employees.
- We want to extend ESIC benefits to all establishments, especially those with less than 10 employees.
- Today’s initiative has been announced to focus on migrant workers, street vendors, small traders, self-employed people, small farmers.
- The government is not doing it, working for the marginalized.
- In 9 measures – 3 pertain to migrant workers, 1 to street vendors, small traders, self-employed people, 2 to small farmers 1 to housing.
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