[ad_1]
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the second tranche on Thursday ₹20 lakh crore economic stimulus package. Today’s packages aim to help thousands of migrant workers who were most affected by COVID-19.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, migrant workers and the urban poor face challenges in obtaining affordable rent. The central government will soon provide affordable rental houses to migrant workers and the urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme.
The Center will convert government-funded housing in cities into affordable rental housing complexes under the PPP model. Sitharaman said the central government will incentivize manufacturing units, industries and institutions to develop affordable housing complexes on their private lands.
Central government agencies and state government organizations will be encouraged to develop housing complexes, Sitharaman added. Details of the scheme will be released soon.
She also released a ₹Rs 70 billion boost to the housing sector through the one-year extension of the subsidized loan for affordable housing for the middle-income group with an annual income of ₹6 lakh to ₹18 lakh.
Nirmala Sitharaman also announced free food grains for 8 million migrant workers over the next two months at a cost of ₹Rs 3.5 billion. Migrant workers without a central or state PDS card will receive 5 kilograms of grain per person and 1 kilogram of ‘chana’ for two months, he said.
PDS ration cards will soon be portable to allow migrant workers to use their ration cards in all states. This move will benefit 67 crore beneficiaries, or 83% of PDS beneficiaries, in 23 states by August, the finance minister added.
The credit-linked subsidy scheme for the middle-income group with the annual income of ₹6 lakh to ₹18 lakh was extended to buy affordable housing units until March 31, 2021. The plan was last extended until March 2020. About 2.5 lakh of middle-income families will benefit in the long term, Sitharaman said. The Minister of Finance said that it will lead to an investment of ₹Rs 70 billion in the housing sector and also create jobs.
She also announced ₹Employment boost of Rs 6 billion, using funds from the Compensatory Afforestation Planning and Management Authority (CAMPA).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday a ₹20 lakh-crore stimulus package, aimed at making the country self-sufficient and reviving the stagnant economy. The package will focus on land, labor, liquidity and law and will cater to various sectors, including home industries, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, the working class, the middle class and others. This includes ₹Package of 1.7 lakh crore consisting of free and effective food grains for the poor for three months announced in March, and ₹5.6 lakh crore stimulus provided through various monetary policy measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
.
[ad_2]
