By ADITYA RAJ DAS / NEW DELHI
UNION Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the economy of the country was emerging strong as key parameters of the economy were in the positive trajectory. She said that India strongly dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic and active cases and mortality rate are showing a declining trend.
Addressing the press conference here today, the Mrs Sitharaman said that the rise in PMI Index, energy consumption, GST collection, bank credit, FPI investment show that India’s economy was doing better. She said, Market Capitalization and Forex Reserve are on all time high which is a positive indicator.
About the progress made in the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, she said, 28 States and Union Territories have been brought under the national portability of ration cards from the 1st September of this year. This has benefitted around 69 crore beneficiaries who can pick the food grains from any fair price shop, said the Minister.
Ms. Nirmala said, several measures taken for the famers are resulting the positive impact. She informed that more than one lakh 43 thousand crore rupees have been sanctioned to the farmers through Kishan Credit Card scheme. She added that 25 thousand crore rupees have been disbursed for additional emerging working capital funding for farmers through NABARD.
Talking about the other key measures to boost the economy, the Finance Minister said, more than one lakh 18 thousand crore rupees worth of loans have been sanctioned to 17 States and Union Territories to increase the liquidity in the DISCOM sector. She said, 25 thousand crore rupees have been provided as additional capital expenditure to the Ministry of Road Transport and Ministry of Defence. She informed that 11 states have been sanctioned three thousand 621 crore rupees have been sanctioned as interest free loans towards capital expenditure.
The Finance Minister said that under the Atmanirbhar 3.0 steps are being taken to boost employment in the country. She said, a new scheme Atma Nirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana is being launched to incentivise creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid recovery phase. She said, under the Rozgar Yojana, the central government will provide subsidy for two years in respect of new eligible employees after 1st October of this year. She said, the subsidy support will be credited upfront in Aadhar seeded EPFO Account of eligible new employees.
She informed that three lakh crore rupees existing emergency credit line guarantee scheme announced as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for the MSME sector has been extended till 31st March of next year. She said, more than two lakh crore rupees have been sanctioned to 61 lakh borrowers so far. Ms. Nirmala said, the scheme to be utilized for 100 per cent collateral free additional credit at capped interest rate to entities rates in 26 stressed sectors.
Talking about the production linked incentive schemes, she said, the government has approved PLI scheme for three sectors at the cost of more than 51 thousand crore rupees to give a significant boost to the economy and domestic employment. She informed that the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme in the 10 key sectors. This scheme will make Indian manufacturers competitive globally and attract investment in the areas of core competency with cutting-edge technology.
Yesterday, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi gave its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme in the 10 key sectors. This scheme will make Indian manufacturers competitive globally and attract investment in the areas of core competency with cutting-edge technology. It will also ensure efficiencies, enhance exports and make India a pivotal part of the global supply chain.