FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announcements: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express photo by Anil Sharma)
FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announcements: The Congress Thursday said the government’s Rs 20 lakh crore special Covid package has so far fallen way short of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the nation and dubbed it as a “jumla package”. Senior party spokesperson Anand Sharma said the country believed that the PM was serious when he made the “dramatic” announcement of giving 10 per cent of the GDP as a package to revive the economy and support workers and migrant labourers, and that expectations had soared.
Migrants and farmers formed the central part in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement of the second tranche of the special Covid package worth Rs 20 lakh crore today. For farmers, the finance minister apporved Rs 30,000 crore additional emergency working capital fund through NABARD, which is over and above Rs 90,000 crore to be provided through normal refinance route. Besides this, a Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit boost to 2.5 crore farmers through the Kisan Credit Card Special drive will be given by the Centre. Here are the highlights of FM Nirmala Sitharaman Speech today
In a relief to migrant workers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the National Portability Cards (One Nation One Ration Card) which can be used in any ration shop in any part of the country as migrants move from state to state. Besides, the FM said the government will give 5 kg/person of wheat or rice and 1 kg/family of channa for non-PDS card holders for two months which is going to cost the national exchequer Rs 3,500 crore.
In order to employ the migrants workforce returning home, FM Sitharaman said the the government has generated 14.62 crore person-days of work till May 13 to help migrants find work who have returned to their home states. Work offers is now 2.33 crore wage seekers in 1.87 lakh gram panchayats, Sitharaman said, adding that Rs 10,000 crore under MNREGA has been spent in just 43 days. For migrants and the urban poor, the FM also announced affordable rental accomodation under PM Awas Yojana (PMAY). (Follow Coronavirus India live updates)
Much of it is liquidity relief, which doesn’t put any burden on the exchequer, according to tax and policy experts.
The second leg of the relief package continues with the basic design of leveraging large stimulus with minimal fiscal cost — of the total liquidity infusion of Rs 3.10 lakh crore, the likely outflow from the Centre’s exchequer is only about Rs 5,000 crore.
Thursday’s measures focused on the poorer segments of society, including migrant labour, small and marginal farmers and urban poor, seems skewed more towards the long-term.
For instance, the affordable rental housing scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana for migrant workers and urban poor will likely be implemented only over a longer time frame.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday in her second press conference further unveiled details of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to help the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (India’s self-reliant campaign). She said the new initiatives focus on migrant workers, street vendors, small traders, the self-employed and small farmers.
#Between March 01 and April 30, nearly 63 lakh loans of farmer worth Rs 86,600 was approved. Support of Rs 4,200 crore was provided under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund to states during March 2020 for rural development.
#Support has been given to migrants and urban poor during the last two months. Three meals a day has been provided to residents for Urban Homeless during the lockdown period
#A sum of Rs. 11,000 crore has been given to states for taking care of migrant workers.
#Nearly 12,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) have produced more than 3 crore masks and 1.2 lakh litres of sanitizers during Covid-19 period. Nearly 7,200 new SHGs were formed during the lockdown period.
Tax deducted on payment of dividend, insurance policy, rent, professional fee and on the acquisition of immovable property has been cut by 25 per cent for a period up to March 31, the tax department has said.
Following Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement of a reduction in the rate of tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) for non-salaried payments, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified revised rates that will be applicable from May 14, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
Clarifying on why the TDS rate has not been reduced for salary, Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey on Thursday said TDS is deducted from salary after taking into account various eligible deductions like 80C and others of the salaried person. This, he said, has been done to ensure that salaried individual do not have to bear the burden of paying high taxes at the year end and also the interest burden.
The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) on Thursday welcomed the Rs 3.16 lakh crore package announced by the Centre, saying it would help the migrants and lead to generation of demand for products and service from farmers and others.
"TheOne Nation, One Ration Card, free rations of Rs 3,500 crore,Kisan creditcard initiative, affordable rental accommodation scheme for migrant workers and the urban poor under PM Awas Yojana andincentivising manufacturing and industries to build affordable housing units...is a welcome reassuring step for the marginal class andwillbenefit the migrants, senior vice-president of FTCCI Ramakanth Inani said in a statement.
Announcing the second tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday informed that free foodgrains for an estimated 8 crore migrant workers for next two months at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore. She said 8 crore migrant workers who do not have either central or state PDS card, will get 5 kilogram of grains per person and 1 kilogram of ‘chana’ for two months.
In order to ensure migrants be able to use their ration cards across states, the finance minister said PDS rations cards will be made portable, adding this would benefit 67 crore beneficiaries or 83 per cent of PDS beneficiaries, in 23 states by August. “By March 2021, 100 per cent coverage under ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ will be done,” Sitharaman said in the media briefing.
The government had last year launched the pilot project for the inter-state portability of ration cards between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and between Maharashtra and Gujarat, as part of its ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme. Since ration cards are issued by state governments, this implied that beneficiaries could procure food grains only from the designated ration shops within the concerned state. If a beneficiary were to shift to another state, he/she would need to apply for a new ration card in the second state. There were other complications. For instance, after marriage, a woman needed to get her name removed from the ration card issued to her parents, and get it added to the ration card issued to her husband’s family. Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on announcements made by FM Nirmala Sitharaman today: "Today’s announcements by FM @nsitharaman will especially benefit our farmers and migrant workers. The announcements include a series of progressive measures and will boost food security, credit to farmers as well as street vendors."
Finance minister's announcements will help ensure food security for migrant workers, boost farm sector and small firms: BJP chief J P Nadda.
BankBazaar CEO Adhil Shetty on measures announced by Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman in theRs 20 lakh crore special Covid relief package: “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement to extend the Credit Linked Interest Subsidy Scheme deadline to March 31, 2021, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, will encourage middle-class families in realising their home-buying dreams despite the prevailing economic challenges. Under this scheme, eligible families with annual household income between Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 18 lakh per annum will now get another year to benefit from an upfront interest subsidy of up to Rs. 2.35 lakh on their approved home loans. This can also trigger a spur in the demand for affordable houses, which, in turn, will relieve the stress experienced by countless developers struggling with mounting inventories since 2019 to some extent. However, considering we’re still deep in the Covid-19 crisis, the government should also focus on how any form of credit will be delivered to customers. Due to health risks, it’s no longer feasible for credit-seekers to visit banks and expose themselves to the flu. Therefore, loans should now ideally be delivered in a contactless and paperless manner. The best way to do this would be through greater use of Aadhaar e-KYC, Video KYC, and CKYC.”
Criticising the measures announced by Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman in theRs 20 lakh crore special Covid relief package, Congress leader Anand Sharma said package so far has been way short of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the nation and "deeply disappointing".
His Congress colleague Manish Tewari called the press conference of the finance minister as a "classic display of arrogance, ignorance, insensitivity". (PTI)
There are at least 8 crore migrants in shelter camps across the country, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This information has been provided to the Centre by states.
The state and Centre are working together to ensure migrants return to their home states. FM Sitharaman says there are 1,200 Shramik Special trains available and ready to ply. Everyday, at least 300 trains can run. For this, the Centre is spending 85% and states are spending 15%. The state government has to ask for trains after which the Centre takes about 3-5 hours to arrange the same.
So far, the Railways has run 806 Shramik Special trains in which 10 lakh migrant workers have returned to their destinations. Here's a break up:
The last measure announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit boost to 2.5 crore farmers through the Kisan Credit Card Special drive (fishermen and animal husbandry farmers will also be include in this scheme). This will enable 2.5 crore farmers gain access to institutional credit at concessional interest rates. They will benefit from credit flow of about Rs 2 lakh crore.
The government has announced measures for farmers, this includes:
For middle income group (annual Income: Rs 6-18 lakh), the government will give a Rs 70,000 crore boost to the housing sector through extension of CLSS Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for Middle Income Group, which was operationalised from May 2017. CLSS was extended up to March 31, 2020. The scheme has benefitted 3.3 lakh middle class families so far, says FM Sitharaman. The govt will extend the CLSS scheme up to March 2021. At least 2.5 lakh middle income families will benefit during 2020-21. This will lead to an investment of over Rs 70,000 crore in housing sector. It will also create jobs, stimulate demand for steel, cement, transport, and other construction material, says FM.
Employment creation through Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds: The government says it has already received proposals worth Rs 6,000 crore to help generate employment for tribals and adivasis for afforestation and plantation works, artificial regenaterion etc. Considering the monsoon is approaching, these projects will kick off soon.
For street vendors, the government has announced the following measures:
The government has also announced the following for small businesses under the MUDRA scheme, which have been disrupted the most due to the coronavirus, and, in turn, do not have the capacity to pay EMIs. These steps include:
For migrants and the urban poor, the government has announced affordable rental accomodation. This Rental Housing Scheme, under PMAY, includes:
In order to benefit migrants, the government is coming up with National Portability Cards (also known as One Nation One Ration Card) which can be used in any ration shop in any part of the country as workers move from state to state. This will be implemented by August for 67 crore beneficiaries (83% of the entire PDS population) in 23 states. The entire PDS population (100%) will be on the system by March 2021. This initiative is a technology-driven system, as announced as a pillar of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (India self-reliant campaign), by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
The government, apart from previous announcements, will give 5 kgs/person of wheat or rice and 1 kg/family of channa for non-PDS card holders for 2 months. This will be done through the states, which are aware where the migrant workers are currently staying. A rough assessment indicates at least 8 crore migrants will benefit from this free food grain supply. This intervention will cost the exchequer Rs 3,500 crore, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman.