Nirmala Sitharaman said indicators are showing that economic recovery is clearly happeningFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announcedstimulus measures to aid job creation, and boost the key real estate and infrastructure sectors, under the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package, aimed at rescuing the economy out of a historic contraction.
"A number of indicators have are showing that recovery is clearly happening in the economy...
The strong recovery is based on the unrelenting reforms that the government has brought in a systematic manner," the Finance Minister said in a media briefing.
Asserting that the latest set of measures take the overall monetary and fiscal support for the economy to Rs 29.88 lakh crore, the finance minister said it is equivalent to 15 per cent of the country's GDP.The announcements come at a time when economists have called for the need for further impetus to aid a revival in an economy battered by the world's biggest lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.Going to announce few new measuresFirst, would like to give you a picture of economic situation, and impact on Atmanirbhar Bharat announcements made recentlyActive cases of COVID-19 have declinedIn last 10-15 days, there have been many measures and indicators showing recovery clearly happeningThe strong recovery is based on unrelenting reforms brought by government in a systematic mannerGST collections were at Rs 1.05 lakh crore in October, up 10% year-on-yearFDI inflows stood at $35.37 billion in April-August, up 13%Bank credit growth has improved compared to last year, up.5.1% year-on-year (as of October 23)Markets are at record highs, with market capitalisations at record levels (Catch latest updates here)RBI's forex reserves have reached $560 billionRBI predicts strong likelihood of economy returning to growth in Q3Moody's has today revised India GDP projection to -8.9% (2020-21) from -9.6%PROGRESS ON ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT 1.0 MEASURES:Under the "One Nation, One Ration Card" scheme, interstate portability achieved in 28 states/Union Territories, covering 68.6 crore beneficiariesIntrastate portability also achieved, with 1.5 crore transactions a monthUnder PM Steet Vendor's Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM Svanidhi) scheme, 26.32 lakh loan applications received, 13.78 lakh loans (amounting to Rs 1,373.33 crore) sanctioned in 30 states and six UTsKisan Credit Card: Credit boost achieved for 2.5 crore farmers1.83 lakh applications receivedUnder ECLG 1.0, Rs 2.05 lakh crore sanctioned to 61 lakh borrowers, Rs 1.52 lakh crore disbursedUnder partial credit guarantee scheme, PSU banks approved purchase of portfolios worth Rs 26,889 croreUnder special liquidity scheme for non-banking financial companies/housing finance companies, Rs 7,227 crore disbursedRs 1,18,273 crore loans sanctioned to 17 states/UTs towards liquidity injection for power distribution companies, Rs 31,136 crore already disbursed to 11 states/UTsPROGRESS ON ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT 2.0 MEASURES (ANNOUNCED ON OCT 12):Festival advance launched for government staff, SBI Utsav Cards being disbursedLeave Travel Concession (LTC) schemes launchedRs 25,000 crore provided as additional capital expenditure (capex) to road and defence ministriesRs 3,621 crore sanctioned to 11 states as interest-free loans towards capexPM Rozgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) implemented up to March 31, to incentivize formalisation, creation of jobsTotal benefit of Rs 8,300 crore given to 1,52,899 companies covering 1,21,69,960 beneficiariesTODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT 3.0):12 areas to be coveredAnnounces Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, aimed at incentivising creation of employment opportunities during COVID-19 recovery phaseBeneficiaries under this new scheme will include: new employees joining employment in EPFO-registered establishments on monthly wages less than Rs 15,000, and EPF members drawing monthly wage of less than Rs 15,000 who exited employment during March-September, and employed on or after October 1Central government to give subsidy on new employmentEmployee and employer contribution of 12% each to be borne by government, for next two years; aimed at easing financial burden on companies for creating jobs95% of all (organised sector) establishments estimated to be covered under this scheme will have employees up to 1,000Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) extended till March 31, 2021 (collateral-free, fully guaranteed loan)MSMEs, business enterprises, individual loans for business purposes, MUDRA borrowers eligible for this schemeRs 2.05 lakh crore already sanctioned to 61 lakh borrowers under this scheme, Rs 1.52 lakh crore disbursed, as of November 12ECLGS 2.0 - for supporting stressed sectors - to be utilized for 100% guaranteed collateral free additional credit at capped interest rateProduction-Linked Incentives (announced on Wednesday) for manufacturers expected to give boost to economy and domestic employmentRs 18,000 crore additional outlay (over and above Budget allocation of Rs 8,000 crore) for urban leg of PM Awaas Yojana (PMAY)A No.
of measures have already been taken over past few months for revival of housing and real estate; However, more measures needed to aid employment creationThe step will help in completing 18 lakh houses78 lakh additional jobs expectedIncome tax relief for developers and home-buyers, to boost demand for residential real estatedifferential hiked to 20% from 10% till June 30 for only primary sale of residential units worth up to Rs 2 croreRs 1.1 lakh crore platform for Infra Debt Finance; Rs 6,000 crore equity infusion in NIIF Debt PlatformRs 6,000 equity infusion by government, rest to be raised from private sectorRs 65,000 crore support for agriculture in form of subsidised fertilisersIncreased supply of fertilisers at subsidised prices to help 140 million farmersAmount to ensure adequate availability of fertilisers to farmers for upcoming crop seasonFor exports: Assistance of Rs 3,000 crore to be given to EXIM Bank for lines of creditSupported projects cover areas such as Railways, power, transmission, road, transport, auto, auto components, sugar Rs 10,200 crore additional budget outlay towards capital and industrial expenditureAreas to be covered:Domestic defence equipmentIndustrial incentivesIndustrial infraGreen energyRs 900 crore R-D grant for development of a COVID-19 vaccine (COVID Suraksha Mission for Research and Development of Indian COVID Vaccine To Department Of Biotechnology)