Govt announces Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0; claims COVID stimulus now worth Rs 29.8 lakh crore

In continuation of the government's push to revive the economy, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced Rs 2.65 lakh crore worth economic stimulus package, termed as Atma Nirbhar Bharat 3.0. Under the stimulus package, the FM made 12 big announcements, and allocated funds and ensured credit guarantees to various sectors, including real estate, rural employment, Covid-19 vaccine research and Atma Nirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana.

Of the total announcements worth Rs 2.65 lakh crore, the maximum Rs 1.45 lakh crore was allocated to give a boost to manufacturing, followed by Rs 65,000 crore for agriculture (fertiliser subsidy), and Rs 10,200 crore for industrial infrastructure, incentives and domestic defence equipment.

Also read: Govt announces credit guarantee scheme for healthcare, 26 stressed sectors

On combining all the three stimulus measures announced by the Centre so far, the entire COVID-19 relief package amounts to Rs 29,87,641 crore, the FM said.

Notably, the Centre, along with the RBI, has announced several packages to soothe the effect of Covid-19 crisis. After the Covid-19 induced lockdowns, the Centre had announced Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP)  worth Rs 1.92 lakh crore. Following which, the Centre came up with Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 1.0 worth Rs 11 lakh crore. The Centre later extended the PM GKP while outlying funds worth Rs 82,911 crore for the purpose. The Centre came up with Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package 2.0 on October 12, while announcing measures worth Rs 73,000 crore. Besides, the RBI also announced liquidity measures worth Rs 12,71,200 crore.

Prominent among the initiatives announced today was the launch of credit guarantee support scheme for the health care sector and 26 sectors stressed due to COVID-19 and the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana.

Also read: Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana launched to create jobs

Under the credit guarantee scheme for stressed sectors, the entities will get additional credit up to 20 percent of outstanding credit, and the repayment can be done in five years. The repayment process will be covered as 1 year of the moratorium and four years of the repayment period.

The Centre also promised to provide subsidy by way of EPF contributions for two years in respect to newly eligible employees. This subsidy will be credited upfront in Aadhaar-seeded EPFO accounts. The government has also extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, businesses, MUDRA borrowers and individuals (loans for business purposes) till March 31, 2021.

Besides, the Union Cabinet also gave its approval to the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme for 10 sectors on Wednesday, under which businesses will get incentives worth over Rs 2 lakh crore in 5 years. The PLI scheme intends to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and enhance exports.

"The Production Linked Incentive Scheme will run for the medium term, it has an immediate impact on decision-making. This, along with the major milestone decision of reducing corporate tax, has rushed in a lot of investment into the country," Sitharaman said.

Also read: Nirmala Sitharaman Press Conference LIVE Update: FM announces credit guarantee support for 26 stressed sectors