Free foodgrains for migrants, concessional credit to farmers
NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday announced a Rs 3.16 lakh crore package of free foodgrains for migrant workers, concessional credit to farmers and working capital loan for street vendors as part of the second tranche of fiscal stimulus to heal an economy hit hard by Coronavirus lockdown.
At a news conference, Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 8 crore migrant workers will get 5 kgs of grains and 1 kg of pulses free for two months, while 50 lakh street vendors, rendered jobless by the lockdown, would be given a working capital loan of Rs 10,000 each.
As many as 2.5 crore farmers will be provided Rs 2 lakh crore of concessional credit through Kisan Credit Cards.
Also for post-harvest (Rabi) and current Kharif crop requirements in May and June, NABARD will provide Rs 30,000 crore additional emergency working capital funding for farmers through rural cooperative banks and regional rural banks.
She also announced a Rs 70,000 crore boost to the housing sector through the one-year extension of subsidised loan for affordable houses for the middle-income group with an annual income of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 18 lakh.
Sitharaman said the Central government will bear Rs 3,500 crore cost of giving free foodgrains and pulses to migrant workers. State governments will be responsible for implementation, identification of migrants and full distribution.
Besides, the minister said the government will make ration cards portable under the initiative ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ to allow migrant workers to access their ration across the country.
“This will enable migrant beneficiaries to access PDS grains from any fair price shop (FPS) in the country. About 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83 per cent of the PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020,” she said.
She further said 100 per cent national portability will be achieved by March 2021. All states and Union Territories will complete full FPS automation by March 2021, she added.
Already 17 states/uts are ready with FPS automation. These include Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, Tripura, Bihar, UP, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Daman and Diu.
Under the initiative, eligible beneficiaries under NFSA would be able to avail their entitled foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop in the country using the same ration card.
For small businesses, the minister announced a 2 per cent interest subvention under MUDRA-SHI-shu loans of up to Rs 50,000. This would cost the government Rs 1,500 crore.
For street vendors, the working capital loan would cost Rs 5,000 crore. She also announced Rs 6,000 crore employment push, using Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced a cumulative package of Rs 20 lakh crore (nearly 10 per cent of GDP) to provide relief to various segments of the economy. This included Rs 1.7 lakh crore package comprising of free foodgrains and cash to poor for three months announced in March, and Rs 5.6 lakh crore stimulus provided through various monetary policy measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).