Eco stimulus package includes Rs 8 lakh crore liquidity measures by RBI: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package to deal with the fallout of COVID-19 includes Rs 8.01 lakh crore of liquidity measures announced by the Reserve Bank since March. The stimulus totals to Rs 20.97 lakh crore, she said, adding this also comprises the Rs 1.92 lakh crore package of free foodgrain and cooking gas to poor and cash to some sections announced in March.

The five part stimulus package announced beginning May 13 comprised Rs 5.94 lakh crore in the first tranche that provided credit line to small businesses and support to shadow banks and electricity distribution companies. The second tranche included free foodgrain to stranded migrant workers for two months and credit to farmers, totalling Rs 3.10 lakh crore. Spending on agri infrastructure and other measures for agriculture and allied sectors in the third tranche totalled to Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The fourth and fifth tranches that dealt mostly with structural reforms totalled to Rs 48,100 crore, she said. 

According to Nirmala Sitharaman, the first tranche of announcements amounts to Rs 594,550 crore under the economic package talked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She had focused on the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the middle class on Wednesday.

The stimulus provided in the second tranche of the economic package was Rs 310,000 crores and Rs 150,000 crore was announced in the third tranche. The finance minister had 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 on Thursday.

She had 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 Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package on Friday. She also proposed amendments to the Essential Commodities Act to enable better price realisation for farmers and said no stock limit should apply to processors or value chain participants.

In the fourth and fifth tranches of the economic package amounts to Rs 48,100 crore, the Union finance minister said. The finance minister said on Saturday said eight sectors will undergo structural reforms, which include coal, minerals, defence production, airspace managements & airports, MRO, power distribution companies in Union territories, space and atomic energy.

She focussed on MGNREGA, health, education, business, decriminalisation of companies act, ease of doing business, public sector and enterprises and state government and resources related to the state governments on Sunday. She added that earlier measures, including Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), amount to Rs 192,800 and measures of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was Rs 801,603.