On Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a meeting in relation to the economy of the country. On June 28th, Sitharaman announced 8 new schemes in order to boost the economy crippled by the Covid-19 situation in the country. The schemes are mainly focused on the Health and Tourism sector of the country.
Rs. 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for the Covid-affected is one of the schemes. An additional of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore will be under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS). The ECLGS is a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package and was launched last year.
The 1.1 Lakh Crore Scheme:
- Health Sector – Rs 50,000 crores
- This amount will be spent on the Medical infrastructure and the health crisis in the country.
- The interest for the alloted amount is 7.95%.
- Other Sectors – Rs. 60,000 crores with the maximum interest rate of 8.25% annually
Additional Rs. 15,000 crore has been alotted for Public health and it will be utilized for paediatric care facilities as well as to prepare for short-term emergencies.
Tourism Sector
- Not forgetting the Tourism sector, the Finance Minister has promised of Rs. 10 Lakh loan to travel agencies plus Rs. 1 lakh loan to tourist guides.
- Tourist visas will be provided free to the first 500,000 tourists when the process begins.
Sitharaman also announced widening of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme under which collateral-free loans are given to MSMEs. A new scheme will give up to Rs 1.25 lakh loan to 25 lakh small borrowers at lower interest rates.
Key Points:
- Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana will be extended from June 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022.
- Export insurance cover of Rs 88,000 crore for merchandise exports
- Rs 33,000 crore to project exports
- The money would go through Export Credit Guarantee Corporation and National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) respectively
- Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) extended by a year – 2020-2021 to 2025-2026
- Ra. 19,041 crore for Broadband Connectivity to 2.5 lakh panchayats across the country – the BharatNet Project
- Rs 14,775 crore for DAP and NPK-based complex fertilizers for the monsoons in the western and southern parts of India
