Just a day after announcing some key developments related to government’s ₹20 lakh crore economic package, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressing the media again on Thursday.

“Today’s initiatives focus on migrant workers, street vendors, small traders, the self-employed and small farmers,” the finance minister said as she began her address to the media.

Here are live updates and Key points Second Tranche of economic package

  • Repayment incentive on crop loans due from March 1 extended to May 31: FM “Interest subvention and prompt repayment incentive on crop loans due from 1st March have been extended to 31st May. “Interest subvention for loans to farmers, normally given for prompt repayment,  close to 3 crore marginal farmers had received loans worth Rs 4 lakh crore at low rates. They were also given a moratorium by the RBI,” says Sitharaman.
  • The government has allowed the states to utilize state disaster response funds for setting up shelters for migrants and to provide food and water. Roughly, Rs 11,002 crore was transferred on April 3, the finance minister says.

 

  • 14.62 crore person-days of work till May 13, which is 40-50% more persons enrolled as compared to last May. Migrant workers going back to their states are being actively enrolled in MGNREGA.

 

  •  The government has permitted state governments to utilize SDRF for setting up a shelter for migrants and providing them food, water. We are conscious, we are attending to the migrants and giving them in various different ways.

 

  •  12,000 self-help groups have produced 3 crore masks and 1.2 lakh liter of sanitizers, thereby providing additional employment opportunities to the urban poor.

 

  •  25 lakh new Kisan Credit Cards have been sanctioned with a loan limit of Rs 25,000 crore.

 

  • 7,200 new SHG groups have been formed for the urban poor. 25 lakh new Kisan Credit Cards have been sanctioned with a loan limit of Rs 25,000 crore.
  • We want to give the right to minimum wage universally to all workers. We are proposing a national floor-wise wage rate so that uniform wage rate prevails across states: FM
  • The minimum wage for workers hiked from Rs 182 to Rs 202 per day. States and UTs have also been told to provide jobs to migrants: FM

 

  • Govt to launch a scheme for affordable rental housing for migrant workers and urban poor to provide ease of living by converting govt-funded housing in cities into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) under PPP mode through concessionaire: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

 

  • One nation, one ration card will be implemented. 67 crore beneficiaries in 23 states covering 83% of PDS population will be covered by national portability by August 2020: FM Sitharaman

 

  • “Free foodgrain supply to migrants for 2 months now expanded for those who don’t have NFSA or state cards. 5 kg of wheat or rice or 1 kg of chana to be provided,” FM Sitharaman said.

 

FM  announced nine steps under the second tranche of Covid-19 package of which “three are related to migrant workers, two related to farmers, one related to street vendors and one related to employment generation in tribal-dominated areas” among others.