Reforms To Be The Focus Of Eco Stimulus Package, FM| 5th Tranche Highlights 

NEW DELHI: Reforms would be the focus of 5th and final tranche of eco stimulus ‘’Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package’’, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.She said the package would focus on MGNREGA, healthcare and education, businesses, de-criminalisation of the Companies Act, ease of doing business, public sector undertakings, and resources related to state government.

Speaking on Sunday while announcing the details of the final tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore package to deal with the fallout of COVID-19 includes:

• Govt allocates additional Rs 40,000 cr over and above Rs 61,000 cr budgeted for MGNREGAs to generate more jobs.
• Public expenditure on health to be increased, investments in grassroot health institutions to be ramped up.
• No fresh insolvency to be initiated for 1 yr; COVID-19 related debt to be excluded from definition of default
• Minimum threshold to initiate insolvency proceedings raised to Rs 1 crore from Rs 1 lakh to benefit MSMEs.
• Pvt companies which list non-convertible debentures on stock exchanges not to be regarded as listed firms.
• New PSU policy to be announced; to define strategic sectors where PSUs will be present, others will be privatised/merged
• Companies allowed to directly list securities in permissible foreign jurisdictions
• Borrowing limit of states raised from 3 pc of Gross State Domestic Product to 5 pc in 2020-21; to make available Rs 4.28 lakh cr extra.
• Rs 20 lakh cr economic stimulus includes Rs 8.01 lakh crore of liquidity measures by RBI and Rs 1.92 lakh cr package in March
• During the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Rs 16,394 crore has been paid to 8.19 crore farmers under the Rs 2,000 free cash dole scheme of PM Kisan, she said.
• Old-age beneficiaries and others have been paid first installment of Rs 1,405 crore and a second one of Rs 1,402 crore.
• She also said that as much as Rs 10,025 crore has been transferred to 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders.
• Rs 1.92 lakh crore package of free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor and cash to some sections .Also, 6.81 free LPG cylinders have been given to poor, she said.

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 foodgrains 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.

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