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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed details of the second tranche of the Center’s special Rs 20-lakh-crore economic package on Thursday, which included nine measures for migrant workers, street vendors and small farmers, among others.
At a press conference, Sitharaman announced an increase of Rs 70,000 crore for 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 Rs 6 lakh at Rs 18 lakh.
Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a press conference on Thursday. AND ME
The credit-linked subsidy scheme went into effect from May 2017 and lasted until March 2021. She said the scheme is being extended for one year to benefit 2.5-lakh middle-income families.
It also announced an employment boost of Rs 6,000 crore for members of the Adivasi community, using funds from the Compensatory Forestry Planning and Management Authority (CAMPA).
Center announces free food grains for migrants for 2 months
Sitharaman also announced a package of Rs 3.16 lakh crore, most of the second tranche, to provide concessional credit to farmers, working capital loans for street vendors, and free food grains for migrant workers.
As part of the measures for migrant workers, the finance minister said that eight crore migrant workers will get 5 kilograms of grain and 1 kilogram of legumes free for two months.
Sitharaman also said that the Center will bear the cost of Rs 3.5 billion rupees to give grains and pulses to migrant workers. State governments will be responsible for the implementation, identification of migrants and complete distribution.
Additionally, to benefit migrant workers, the government plans to allow interstate portability of ration cards under the public distribution system (PDS) to allow them to use their cards anywhere to obtain food grains.
Sitharaman said the measure, dubbed ‘One Nation, One Ration Card,’ is expected to benefit eight million migrant workers in August 2020 and will be extended to 100 percent coverage in March 2021.
He added that the Center will launch a plan for affordable rental housing for migrants and the urban poor. “This is to make life easier by converting government-funded housing in cities into affordable rental housing complexes (ARHC) in PPP mode through a dealership,” he said.
For small businesses, Sitharaman announced a two percent interest grant under MUDRA-Shishu loans of up to Rs 50,000. This will cost the government Rs 1.5 billion, he said.
#NirmalaSitharaman The Center will provide a 2% interest grant to apply to MUDRA-Shishu loan recipients for a period of 1 year; relief of Rs 1,500 crore for MUDRA-Shishu loan beneficiaries.
Follow the updates LIVE on # Coronavirus pandemic: https://t.co/I1XglJPwi2 pic.twitter.com/muMxrDM685
– Firstpost (@firstpost) May 14, 2020
He also announced measures for street vendors, saying 50-lakh street vendors out of work for the closure will receive a working capital loan of Rs 10,000 each. For street vendors, the working capital loan will cost Rs 5 billion.
2.5 cr farmers will receive Rs 2 lakh cr credit on favorable terms
Some 2.5 million crore will receive Rs 2 lakh crore of concessional credit through Kisan Credit Cards, Sitharaman said on Thursday.
Also for current post-harvest (Rabi) and Kharif harvest requirements in May and June, NABARD will provide additional emergency working capital funds of Rs 30 billion to farmers through rural cooperative banks and regional rural banks.
NABARD will extend the additional refinancing support of Rs 30,000 crore to the crop loan requirement of rural cooperative banks and regional rural banks.
This, he said, would benefit 3 crore producers, mostly small and marginal.
Sitharaman also outlined the relief measures announced by the government as part of Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana aimed at assisting vulnerable groups during the national shutdown.
With contributions from agencies
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