Ration for migrants, farm relief in 2nd tranche of govt stimulus
~3.16L-cr in latest round of assistance involving free food grains, cheaper loans, affordable housing
NEW DELHI: Free food grains and pulses for migrants, more jobs for tribals and those in rural areas, and credit to small enterprises, street vendors and small farmers — these were some of the highlights of the second phase of the government’s ~20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Scheme) announced on Thursday.
Totalling ~3.16 lakh crore, the schemes include 5kg rice or wheat and 1kg ‘chana’ (chickpea) a month, for 80 million migrant families for two months (which will cost ~3,500 crore); a ~1,500crore interest discount scheme aimed at 30 million units; a ~5,000-crore special credit facility for five million street vendors; a ~6,000-crore Compensatory Afforestation Management & Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund for providing jobs to tribals; a ~30,000 core emergency working capital scheme for farmers; a ~70,000-crore boost to lower-middle class housing; and ~2-lakh crore concessional credit offer to 25 million farmers through Kisan Credit Cards.
One part of the focus of Thursday’s announcements, experts said, seemed to be to take care of the emergency food needs of migrant workers, many of whom have returned home from the cities after losing their livelihoods. “One nation, one ration card will be implemented in the next three months and it is expected to benefit 670 million people in 23 states,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while announcing the package.
The first tranche of the package, totalling about ~5.9 lakh crore, which was announced by Sitharaman on Wednesday, was mainly focused on providing easy credit facilities to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and non banking finance companies; a fund for debt-laden electricity distribution companies or discoms; a partial wage support scheme (for two months) for small companies; and ways to put more cash in the hands of people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, a special economic and comprehensive package of ~20 lakh crore, about 10% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), to revive the economy which has been battered by a prolonged lockdown since March 25 to check the spread of Covid-19. This also includes a ~1.7 lakh crore package already announced on March 26 and monetary measures aggregating to around ~5.7 lakh crore taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) since March 27.
Unveiling the second tranche at a media briefing, Sitharaman said the short-term and the longterm measures are meant to support the poor, including migrants, farmers, tiny businesses and street vendors.