What Nirmala Sitharaman Announced for Farmers, Migrants, Street Vendors, Lower Middle Class in Part 2 of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Economic Package

New Delhi, May 14: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday disclosed part two of the details related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore "Atma Nirbhar Bharat Economic Package". Among major announcements made by Sitharaman, included distribution of free ration to migrants or urban poor, even to the non-cardholders, for the next two months. She also announced that the scope of Kisan Credit Card scheme would be expanded to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore in the next couple of months.

Sitharaman, on beginning her press interaction, had stressed that the announcements being made today are specifically targeted to mitigate the stress of labourers, migrant workers, small farmers, street vendors and tribals. Apart from the measures announced today, more benefits would be rolled out for these section of the populace, she added. Here is the complete highlight from her media address.

For Farmers

"25 lakh new Kisan Credit Card holders have also been sanctioned loans amounting to Rs 25,000 crore," Sitharaman told reporters, adding that the amount will be increased to Rs 2 lakh crore and benefit nearly 2.5 crore farmers. To expand the scheme, more cards will be issued in the days to come, and will also be provided to fishermen and those involved in animal husbandry.

"NABARD to extend additional re-finance support of Rs 30,000 crores for crop loan requirement of Rural Co-op banks and RRBs," the Finance Minister added, stating that the focus of the financial support would be the marginalised and small-scale farmers.

Sitharaman announced an extension in the date of payment for interest subvention on crop loans which are due on March 1. The loans have been extended till May 31, she claiming adding that efforts were taken in the last two months to address the liquidity issues of the crop sowers. "In March-April 2020, 63 lakh loans of Rs 86,600 crore have been approved as agricultural loans," she said.

The Finance Minister claimed that the government was striving towards addressing the concerns of farmers way before the lockdown came into effect. "About 3 crore marginal farmers have already benefited by availing loans which were given to them on concessional rates. These were over Rs 4 lakh crore," the FM added.

For Migrant Labourers/Urban Poor

For migrants, Sitharaman said, the Centre has been constantly working with the state governments and providing them monetary aid to alleviate their plight amid the lockdown. "Rs 11,000 crores have been provided by Centre to states as part of SDRF to give shelter and food to urban migrants who are homeless, in the past 2 months," she added.

"12,000 self-help groups (SHGs) have produced more than 3 crore masks and 1.2 lakh litres of sanitizers during COVID-19 period. 7,200 new SHGs for urban poor have been formed during the last two months," Sitharaman announced.

The Finance Minister also claimed that the Centre has been constantly generating working man-hours for the registered labourers. "We have already generated 14.62 crore person-days of work till 13th May, which is 40-50 percent more persons enrolled as compared to last May. Migrant workers going back to their states being actively enrolled," she added.

The Centre has allocated Rs 3,500 crore for distributing free foodgrains to all migrants, including non ration cardholders, for the next two months. "For non-card holders, they shall be given 5kg wheat/rice per person and 1 kg chana per family/month for 2 months. 8 crore migrants will benefit- Rs 3500 crores to be spent on this," announced Anurag Thakur, MoS, Finance.

Thakur also announced that the Centre will allow migrant labourers to procure benefits from any state using the same ration card. "One Nation One Ration Card will be implemented- 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83 percent of PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020," he said.

The Centre will also launch a scheme for affordable rental housing for migrant workers/urban poor to provide ease of living by converting government-funded housing in cities into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) under PPP mode through concessionaire, Sitharaman said.

For Street Vendors & Lower Middle Class

Government of India will provide interest subvention of 2 percent for prompt MUDRA-Shishu Loans payees for a period of 12 months. This will be provide a relief of Rs 1500 crores to MUDRA-Shishu loan payees, the Finance Minister claimed.

"Government to support nearly 50 lakh street vendors with Rs 5000 crore Special Credit Facility," Sitharaman added. Check details below:

The Centre has also decided to extend the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for middle income group (annual income Rs 6-18 lakhs) up to March 2021. An estimated 2.5 lakh middle income families are expected to benefit during 2020-21, Sitharaman claimed.

For Tribal Employment

The Centre will pump Rs 6,000 crore in a targeted manner to create employment and earning opportunities for the tribal populace. "For tribals Rs 6,000 crore CAMPA funds will be made available in tribal and adivasi areas," said Anurag Thakur.

Highlights from Day 1 of FM's Announcement

Sitharaman's first presser, on Wednesday, drew headlines for the major push announced to rejuvenate the MSME sector. The Finance Minister, as part of the massive economic package announced by PM Modi, said firms falling under micro, small and medium-scale category would be allowed to avail loans without collaterals. The collective amount of such loans has been capped at Rs 3 lakh crore.

Sitharaman also unveiled a relief for the salaried class, as the provident fund deduction has been lowered from 12 to 10 percent from the employer's end. The tax-deducted at source, in case of contractual employees, has also been reduced by 25 percent. The two measures would end up increasing the take-home pay of the employees in organised sector.

A day before Sitharaman's press conference, Prime Minister Modi in his special address to the nation announced that an economic stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore would be pumped by the Centre to boost the Indian economy. The goal, he said, is to make nation "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" or self-reliant India.

The package announced by Modi, which drew praise from several quarters, amounts to nearly 10 percent of India's total GDP size. The stimulus is inclusive of the measures taken by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease liquidity after the COVID-19 outbreak in India. It also includes the Rs 1.7 lakh crore package which the Finance Ministry had announced last month.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 14, 2020 05:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).