Hyderabad: Conditions on FRBM limits for fiscal discipline, says Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy refused to draw into any political brickbats to certain statements made by the TS leaders regarding the economic stimulus package announced by the Centre and increasing the FRBM limits.

Addressing the media here on Monday, he said several countries have been in confusion due to the uncertainties and challenged thrown at by Covid-19. However, the Modi-government has taken resolute decisions to bring back the economy onto the tracks. For which, "the Centre has announced Rs 20.97 lakh crore package. It is not a budget announcement but an addition to it," he added.

The main focus of the package was to encourage production and export-oriented economy than making the country a market for others. In line with this, the Centre has announced a series of economic reforms, besides, administrative reforms bringing transparency, accountability to benefit the people of the country.

Dismissing that the Centre has imposed unreasonable conditions while enhancing the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) to States to avail fresh loans, he said at the current FRBM limits,the States have so far utilised only 14 per cent ou of about Rs 6.40 lakh crores available. The enhanced 5 per cent FRBM limits make available another Rs 4.28 lakh crore credit to the States.

The Minister said conditions to avail credit in enhanced limits like implementing one nation one ration card is meant to benefit people. Similarly, the States are asked to introduce reforms in the power sector. Because several States have been announcing schemes providing different reliefs, but they are not paying to the power generation and distribution companies. In turn, most of the GENCOs and Discoms in the country are going into the red as loss-making companies with huge financial burden mounting on them, he said. "If the power companies will crumble it will ultimately affect the people. For this reason and to bring some transparency and accountability of fiscal discipline that such condition was mentioned. It is not related to any State specific, but for the whole country," he clarified.

Stating that the growing number of Covid-19 cases is a disturbing trend, he said each Minister has been allocated a certain number of districts and they are reviewing with the district Collectors, SPs and health officials on daily basis.

Kishan Reddy said 319 districts are completely free from Covid, 280 identified as non-hotspots and only 130 are declared as hotspots. Mostly, the cases are coming from 30 areas of urban civic bodies. Appealing to people to cooperate with the local and State authorities, he said, "currently, out of every million 63 positive cases and two deaths are reported in the country as against 4,480 positive cases and 268 deaths in countries like the USA."