Rs 10,000 Crore for Micro Food Firms as Part of Modi’s 'Vocal for Local' Focus, Says FM | Key Highlights

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the third of a series of press conferences meant to outline India's efforts to reboot its economy that has been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sitharaman, along with MoS Finance Anurag Thakur said that the measures to be announced today will focus on agriculture and its allied activities.

Earlier, she had shared details of measures for small businesses, discoms, NBFCs and migrant workers.

On Thursday, she had announced the launch of ‘one nation one ration card’ scheme and said the Centre will also provide free food grains to those migrants who have no ration cards for the next two months as part of the second tranche of her economic package.

The government has been facing criticism for its handling of the migrant crisis as lakhs still continue to walk back hundreds of kilometres to their home states as their income dried up because of the lockdown.

Here are the key quotes from the Finance Minister's address:

- As many as 11 measures will be announced today, of which eight relate to strengthening infrastructure and storage facilities, and three will relate to governance and administrative reforms.

- Minimum Support Price purchases worth Rs 74,300 crore have been made in two months. Rs 18,700 crore DBT transfers were made to farmers' accounts.

-Rs 6,400 crores sent to farmers against claims under PM Fasal Bima Yojana.

-Rs 1 lakh crore announced for agri-infrastructure fund for farm-gate infrastructure for farmers. Impetus will be placed on development of farm-gate and aggregation point, affordable and financially viable post-harvest management infrastructure.

-During the lockdown period, the demand for milk reduced by 20-25%. A new scheme to provide interest subvention at 2% per annum to dairy cooperatives for 2020-21. The scheme will unlock Rs 5,000 crore additional liquidity and benefit 2 crore farmers.

-Government introduces a Rs 10,000 crores scheme for the formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (MFE); the scheme promotes PM's vision of 'Vocal for Local with global outreach'.