Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday.
New Delhi [India], May 17 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced that the Centre has allocated an additional amount of Rs 40 thousand crores under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS ).
“The government will now allocate an additional Rs 40 thousand crores in the MGNREGSÂ . It will address the need for more work including returning migrant workers during monsoon season,” Sitharaman said while announcing the last tranche of the economic package announced by the government.
She said that the fifth and the final tranche of Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package will focus on seven main points. “Today, I have seven such steps to tell you and the order in which they will be, are the MGNREGA, Health (rural and urban) and education-related steps, businesses and COVID, decriminalisation of the Companies Act, Ease of Doing Business and related matters, Public Sector Enterprises policies and matters, state government and related resources,” the Minister said.
The announcements came after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package for the country to become ‘self-reliant’ and deal with COVID-19 crisis. Sitharaman had on Saturday said that the Central government will introduce competition, transparency and private sector participation in the coal sector and will do infrastructure development of Rs 50,000 crore.
Earlier on Friday, Sitharaman announced Rs 1 lakh crore Agri Infrastructure Fund for farm gate infrastructure for farmers and Rs 10,000 crore scheme for the formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (MFEs) under the stimulus package.
On Thursday, the Finance Minister announced the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, free food grain supply to migrants and creation of affordable rental housing complexes (ARHC) in urban areas for migrant workers and poor under the COVID-19 stimulus package .
Govt to form new policy for PSEs, open all sectors to private players: FM Sitharaman
The government will soon come up with a new policy for public sector enterprises (PSEs) and all sectors of the economy will be open for private entities , Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday. “In strategic sectors, at least one enterprise will remain in the public sector. But the private sector will also be allowed.
In other sectors, PSEs will be privatised,” she said. The list of strategic sectors requiring the presence of PSEs in the public interest will be notified soon. “To minimise wasteful administrative costs, the number of enterprises in strategic sectors will be between one to four.
Others will be privatised or merged or brought under holding companies,” said Sitharaman.
Sitharaman announces decriminalisation of Companies Act defaults
In order to provide relief to the companies amid COVID-19 pandemic, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced the decriminalisation of Companies Act defaults.
“Decriminalisation of Companies Act defaults; 7 compoundable offences altogether dropped and 5 to be dealt with under alternative framework. The amendment will de-clog the criminal courts and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT ),” Sitharaman said while announcing the last tranche of the economic package announced by the government.
She said that debts due to COVID-19Â will not be included in the category of ‘default’. The announcements came after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package for the country to become ‘self-reliant’ and deal with COVID-19Â crisis.
Coronavirus-related debts to be excluded from defaults under IBC
Corporate debts related to COVID-19 pandemic will be excluded from default category under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for a period of up to one year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday. At the same time, the minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings has been raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
To enable these, Sitharaman said the government will need to amend Section 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC through an ordinance. Besides, a special insolvency framework will be enacted to insulate micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs ) from being taken to court under the IBC.
The Finance Minister made the announcements as part of the fifth tranche of measures to revive the faltering economy. Â
Borrowing limit of states increased from 3 to 5 percent, will give extra resources of Rs 4.28 lakh crore
To deal with the economic fallout of COVID-19, the Centre increased borrowing limit for state s from three to five per cent for 2020-21 only, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Sunday.
The decision comes after requests posed by various state governments, Sitharaman added. “In view of the unprecedented situation, Centre has decided to increase borrowing limit s of state s from 3 per cent to 5 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP ) for 2020-21,” Sitharaman said while announcing the last tranche of the economic package announced by the government.
She added that this will give the state s extra resources of Rs 4.28 lakh crore. However, the Finance Minister said that the net borrowing ceiling of state s for the same year was Rs 6.41 crore, based on 3 per cent of GSDP and added, “75 per cent thereof was authorised to them in March 2020 itself and timing is left to the states.
States have so far borrowed only 14 per cent of the limits authorised, 86 per cent of the authorised borrowing remains unutilised.” She had earlier announced that the Centre has allocated an additional amount of Rs 40 thousand crores under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
The announcements came after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package for the country to become ‘self-reliant’ and deal with COVID-19 crisis. (ANI)Â
