Cabinet approves parts of Centre’s Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package

The Union Cabinet has approved sections of the Centre's Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package outlined in five tranches by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over May 13-17.

The Cabinet has approved seven of 54 announcements made, The Economic Times reported. All 54 may not need approval. Among the sections approved includes:

- Rs 41,000 crore government support for the MSME credit guarantee scheme for FY21-24: The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Co (NCGTC) to provide 100 percent guarantee coverage in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

- Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs): As part of the scheme, a Rs 5 crore special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be set up by a large public sector bank to manage a stressed asset fund (SAF), where up to Rs 30,000 crore will be guaranteed by the government and purchased by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

- For migrants: Rs 3,109 crore subsidy for free distribution of 5 kg of grains to migrants till June.

- For senior citizens: The Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a social security scheme for senior citizens, has been extended for three years until March 2023.

- New methodology for commercial mining and coal sale: Auctioning of coal blocks on a revenue-share basis approved. It has set a 4 percent revenue share as the base price for bids, with no cap on coal utilisation.

- For farmers: Rs 10,000 crore scheme for micro food enterprises, farmer producer organisations (FPOs), self-help groups (SHGs) and cooperatives.

- Rs 20,050 crore scheme for fisheries: Cleared and for five years from the current fiscal.