FM Sitharaman announces LTC cash voucher scheme to boost demand

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday launched LTC cash voucher scheme and special festival advance scheme to boost spending and stimulate demand. The proposals to stimulate demand are designed to stimulate demand in a fiscally prudent way. Some of them include advancing of expenditure, with offsetting changes later, others are directly linked to increasing GDP, says FM Sitharaman.

The scheme is expected to generate additional consumer demand worth Rs 1 lakh crore. "Given that private sector spending through LTC tax benefit would be at least Rs 28,000 crore, we estimate total demand boost due to today's measures to be more than Rs 1 lakh crore," says FM.

Addressing press conference on economic issues, the FM says, "Indications are those savings of govt. and organised sector employees have increased, we want to incentivise such people to boost demand for the benefit of the less fortunate."

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Indications are that savings of govt. and organized sector employees have increased, we want to incentivize such people to boost demand for the benefit of the less fortunate

- Finance Minister @nsitharaman, presenting LTC Cash Voucher Scheme to stimulate consumer spending pic.twitter.com/XDLzUisi3r

- PIB in Maharashtra (@PIBMumbai) October 12, 2020

The government has announced this scheme in the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak.

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