Economy is emerging strong as key parameters of economy show signs of positive growth: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the economy is emerging strong as key parameters of the economy are in a positive trajectory. She said, India strongly dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and active cases and mortality rate are showing a declining trend.

Addressing the press conference in New Delhi today, November 12, 2020, the Minister said, rise in PMI Index, energy consumption, GST collection, bank credit, FPI investment show that India's economy is doing better. She said, Market Capitalization and Forex Reserve are an all-time high which is a positive indicator.

Informing about the progress made in the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, she said, 28 States and Union Territories have been brought under the national portability of ration cards from September 1, 2020. This has benefitted around 69 crore beneficiaries who can pick the food grains from any fair price shop, said the Minister.

Ms. Nirmala said, several measures taken for the farmers are resulting in a positive impact. She informed that more than Rs 1.43 lakh crore have been sanctioned to the farmers through Kishan Credit Card scheme. She added that Rs 25,000 crore have been disbursed for additional emerging working capital funding for farmers through NABARD.

Talking about the other key measures to boost the economy, the Finance Minister said, more than Rs 1.18 lakh crore worth of loans have been sanctioned to 17 States and Union Territories to increase the liquidity in the DISCOM sector. She said, 25,000 crore have been provided as additional capital expenditure to the Ministry of Road Transport and Ministry of Defence. She informed that 11 states have been sanctioned Rs 3,621 crore have been sanctioned as interest-free loans towards capital expenditure.

Office of Nirmala Sitharaman in a tweet said, "The Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana is being launched to incentivise the creation of new employment opportunities during the COVID recovery phase."

The Finance Minister said that under the Atmanirbhar 3.0 steps are being taken to boost employment in the country. She said, a new scheme Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana is being launched to incentivise the creation of new employment opportunities during the Covid recovery phase. She said, under the Rozgar Yojana, the central government will provide subsidy for two years in respect of newly eligible employees after October 1, 2020. She said, the subsidy support will be credited upfront in Aadhar seeded EPFO Account of eligible new employees.

She informed that Rs 3 lakh crore existing emergency credit line guarantee scheme announced as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for the MSME sector has been extended till March 31, 2021. She said, more than Rs 2 lakh crore has been sanctioned to 61 lakh borrowers so far. Ms. Nirmala said, the scheme to be utilized for 100 per cent collateral-free additional credit at a capped interest rate to entities rates in 26 stressed sectors.

Talking about the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes, she said, the government has approved PLI scheme for three sectors at the cost of more than Rs 51,000 crore rupees to give a significant boost to the economy and domestic employment. She informed that the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme in the 10 key sectors. This scheme will make Indian manufacturers competitive globally and attract investment in the areas of core competency with cutting-edge technology.

Yesterday, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi gave its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme in the 10 key sectors. This scheme will make Indian manufacturers competitive globally and attract investment in the areas of core competency with cutting-edge technology. It will also ensure efficiencies, enhance exports and make India a pivotal part of the global supply chain.