Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the second tranche of Covid stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore at 4 pm. This will be her second press conference in as many days.
On Wednesday, the FM, who was flanked by finance ministry officials and MoS Anurag Thakur, announced the first set of measures that focussed on relief to MSMEs,
NBFCs, power discoms among others.
MSMEs were extended lines of credit worth Rs 3 lakh crore, Rs 30,000 crore was announced for the NBFCs and Rs 90,000 crore for the beleaguered discoms.
The FM also extended the benefits under
EPF. For all companies, the statutory obligation to pay 12 per cent of basic salary as employer's share to employee provident fund (EPF) contribution has been reduced to 10 per cent to boost their liquidity.
India Inc welcomed the steps announced in the first instalment saying these will go a long way in mitigating the stress experienced by the
MSME sector. They particularly welcomed the step to revise the criteria of MSME classification. The new classification which now includes an enhanced investment limit along with turnover will help the MSME sector to aim for expansion without worrying about losing benefits.
The next set of announcements are expected to address the concerns of other sectors that have suffered due to successive lockdowns.
Catch all the Live Updates below as soon as the FM's address begins.