Prime Minister chairs first Cabinet Meeting of the second year in office

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Union Cabinet as the country entered the first day of the Centre’s three-phased unlocking plan throughout the country. This was the first meeting of the Union Cabinet after the Modi government came into its second year in office.

During the meeting, many historical decisions were taken that will have a transformative impact on the lives of farmers, MSME sector and on street vendors.

Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan for MSMEs, who are the backbone of Indian economy and crucial role to play in building a more robust and self-reliant India. PM made some prominent announcements. Under this package, the MSME sector has not only been given substantial allocation but has also been accorded priority in the implementation of the measures to revive the economy.

The Cabinet Proposed provisioning of Rs 20,000 crore as subordinate debt to provide equity support to the stressed MSMEs has been formally approved by the Cabinet today. This will benefit 2 lakh stressed MSMEs. Another Proposal for equity infusion of Rs 50,000 crores for MSMEs through fund of funds has also been approved by the Cabinet today. This will establish a framework to help MSMEs in managing the debt-equity ratio and in their capacity augmentation. This will also provide an opportunity to get listed in stock exchanges.

The Centre decided for upward revision of MSME definition, increased micro manufacturing and services unit to Rs. 1 crore of investment and Rs. 5 crores of turnover. The limit of the small unit was increased to Rs. 10 crores of investment and Rs 50 crore of turnover. Similarly, the limit of a medium unit was increased to Rs 20 crore of investment and Rs. 100 crore of turnover. The Centre also increased the threshold for medium manufacturing and service units to Rs 50 crore of investment and Rs. 250 crore of turnover.

A Special Micro-Credit Facility Scheme PM SVANidhi and PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for providing affordable loans to street vendors. This will benefit over 50 lakh people, including vendors, hawkers, thelewalas, rehriwala,

This will be the first time in the history that street vendors from peri-urban/ rural areas have become beneficiaries of an urban livelihood programme. The vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year

MFIs/ NBFCs/ SHG Banks have also been allowed in a scheme for the urban poor due to their ground-level presence and proximity to the urban poor, including the street vendors.

A digital platform is being developed to administer the scheme with an end-to-end solution. This IT platform will also help in integrating the vendors into the formal financial system; This will also be combined with the web portal with UdyamiMitra portal of SIDBI for credit management and PAiSA portal of MoHUA to administer interest subsidy automatically.

The Government has kept its promise of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the cost of production for the Kharif season 2020-21, the MSP of 14 crops for the Kharif season has been announced, based on the recommendation of CACP. The return over cost for these 14 crops ranges from 50% to 83%.

The Government also extends the repayment date up to August 31, 2020, for all Short-Term loans up to Rs.3 lakh advanced for agriculture and allied activities by banks. Farmers will also get the benefit of interest subvention and prompt repayment incentive. The short-term agricultural loan due between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020, will continue to get the benefit of 2% Interest Subvention (IS) to Banks and 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI) to farmers.

“The Government’s top focus was on the poor, and vulnerable are at the top of the priorities. During the pandemic, right from the day of announcement of the lockdown, From ensuring coverage of around 80 crore people with food security to direct cash transfers into the bank accounts of 20 crore women, from putting money into the hands of senior citizens, poor widows and poor Divyangs to front-loading of the PM-KISAN instalment to crores of farmers, steps were announced. These covered a wide range of vulnerable sections which would have borne the brunt of the lockdown if not for the immediate intervention of the Government. Moreover, these were not mere announcements. Within days, assistance reached crores of people directly, either in cash or kind” states PMO office

One Nation One Ration card, free food grains even for those without ration cards, a new affordable rental scheme for t housing have been announced for the welfare of the migrant labourers under Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative,