Following
the first press conference on 13 May 2020, the Indian Finance Minister (FM)
made the second tranche of announcements at a press conference on 14 May 2020.
The announcements covered measures aimed at migrant workers, small farmers and
street vendors besides covering affordable housing.
The FM
recounted the various measures initiated by governments during the COVID
lockdown to various sections of society. In the backdrop of the earlier
measures the FM made further announcements of the measures for the intended
segments of the society.
The key
highlights of the measures are as follows:
1. Migrant workers
The FM
commiserated with the plight of migrant workers and announced the following
measures to mitigate their hardships:
Free food grains for two months
The central government will make
available through state governments 5 kg of rice or wheat and 1 kg of chana per
month for the next two months free of cost to about 8 crore migrant workers
This measure is applicable to all
migrant workers including those who do not have NFSA or state documentation
The state governments will draw up
the list and distribute the provisions
The central government will spend Rs
3,500 crore on this measure
One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC)
National portability of ration cards
under the ONORC System will enable migrant workers to avail benefits under the
PDS wherever they may be located in any part of India
By August 2020, ONORC would cover 23
states accounting for 83% of PDS population covering 67 crore people
100% national portability would be
achieved by March 2021
Additional Read – “ What is the One Nation One Ration Card
System?”
MGNREGS Work
Migrant workers who have returned to
their home states will be provided work under MGNREGS
As of 13 May 2020,
about 2.33 crore wage seekers in 1.87 lakh gram panchayats have been offered
work
Rental Accommodation
Rental accommodation for migrant
workers is being enhanced by offering incentives to private manufacturing and
industrial units, associations and organizations to create Affordable Rental
Housing Complexes (ARHC) on their private land
Converting government funded housing
into ARHC through concessionaires on PPP mode
Offering incentive to central and
state government agencies to build and operate ARHC
The migrant workers can make use of
the ARHC to rent accommodation for themselves
This scheme will be implemented under
PM Awas Yojana
2. MUDRA
Shishu loan
Under the
MUDRA Shishu Loan scheme, people who have availed loans up to Rs 50,000 will be
eligible for interest subvention of 2% for next 12 months. This will kick in
after RBI moratorium period ends
This
measure will benefit 3 crore people and the central government will bear the
cost of Rs 1,500 towards this measure
3. Street Vendors
Street
vendors will be provided up to Rs 10,000 working capital loan facility to
commence work once the lockdown is lifted
The
central government is making a provision of Rs 5,000 crore for this measure
Street
vendors will be eligible for monetary rewards for making digital payments and
can avail more benefits for prompt repayment action
This
measure will benefit 50 lakh street vendors
4. Middle Income
Group – Affordable Housing
The
Credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) for middle income households with an income
between Rs 6 and 18 lakh, started in May 2017 and ending March 2020, will be
extended up to March 2021. The extension will spur investments of Rs 70,000
crore in housing having a cascading effect on sectors such as steel, cement,
construction materials and transportation besides creating numerous jobs
So
far 3.3 lakh MIG households have taken benefit under this scheme, and the
extension would benefit an additional 2.5 lakh MIG households
5. Tribal Welfare
Tribal
citizens and adivasis will benefit from CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation and
Management Planning Authority) funds of Rs 6,000 crore earmarked for creating
jobs for this group
State
governments can use the funds for works related to artificial and natural
regeneration, forest management, soil and moisture conservation, forest
protection, development of forest and wildlife infrastructure, wildlife
protection and management
Rural,
semi-urban and urban areas will be covered under the measure
6. Small and
marginal farmers
Farmers
will get additional emergency working capital funding through NABARD to the
tune of Rs 30,000 crore through RRBs and Rural Cooperative Banks. This is over
and above Rs 90,000 crore existing normal refinance route
This
measure will benefit 3 crore farmers who can utilize the funds for post harvest
Rabi crop and ensuing Kharif sowing season
Kisan
Credit Card
The Kisan Credit Card scheme will be extended
to an additional 2.5 crore farmers, including fishermen and animal husbandry
farmers
The scheme offers credit at concessional rate
of interest
The credit flow will be Rs 2 lakh crore
As can be seen from the measures announced the government is addressing the needs of different sections of society and economy firstly to mitigate their hardships and secondly to allow them to continue their livelihood in the post COVID period.
20 May 2020
5 mins read
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