Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 13 explained the contours of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package announced by PM Narendra Modi a day earlier to shore up the econnomy, which has been battered by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The package, called Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, involves 15 measures for various sectors, which includes:
>> 6 for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)
>> 2 for the Employee's Provident Fund (EFP)
>> 3 tax measures
>> 1 on power distribution companies (DISCOMS
>> 2 for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies (HFCs) and micro-finance institutions (MFIs)
>> 1 for contractors
>> 1 for the real estate sector
Also read: PM Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus: Here’s how much of it has already been announced
The Finance Minister said further details about the economic stimulus will be provided over the next days.
Here are the key announcements made by the Finance Minister:
>> The deadline for filing tax returns for FY20 would be extended to November 30, 2020 from July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2020.
>> 25 percent cut in tax deducted at source (TDS) for non-salaried specified payments made to residents and rates of tax collected at source (TCS) for 2020-21. This will release liquidity of Rs 50,000 crore.
>> EPF support to employers and employees to continue for another three months (till the end of August), through Rs 2,500 crore fresh liquidity aid.
>> Rs 3 lakh crore collateral free automatic loans for business, including MSMEs.
>> Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt for MSMEs
>> Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs
>> Rs 90,000 crore liquidity injection into DISCOMs by PFC/REC
>> COVID-19 to be considered as a "force majeure" event under RERA
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