Centre gives massive Rs 40,000 crore boost to MGNREGA in final Covid package tranche

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announcing the final tranche of Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package on Sunday, said that the government will now allocate an additional Rs 40,000 crores to MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) to provide a boost to employment. The existing allocation was Rs 61,000 crore, taking the total to Rs 101,000 crore. The scheme is critical for providing employment amid the Covid pandemic, which has left a large section of the workforce unable to work to earn a living.

Rs 40,000 crores increase in allocation for MGNREGA 

She said it will help in the creation of a larger number of creation and livelihood assets including water conservation assets. It will also boost the rural economy through higher production. 

The final tranche of measures announced by the Finance Minister includes 7 measures, also focusing on technology-driven education, Insolvency and Bankruptcy proceedings, and others.

In a bid to give relief to companies defaulting on loans due to the COVID-19 stress, FM Sitharaman said no fresh insolvency will be initiated for one year under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Also, coronavirus-related debt will be excluded from definition of default, she said.

Minimum threshold to initiative insolvency proceeding has been raised to Rs 1 crore from Rs 1 lakh to benefit MSMEs, she said adding that an Ordinance will be promulgated to bring this change in IBC.

Initiatives and reforms announced by FM earlier

The Finance Minister on Saturday said that the central government will introduce competition, transparency and private sector participation in the coal sector and will do infrastructure development of Rs 50,000 crore.

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Earlier on Friday, FM Sitharaman 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. 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.

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On Thursday, the Finance Minister 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. The announcements came after the Prime Minister on Tuesday announced the economic package for the country to become 'self-reliant' and deal with COVID-19 crisis.

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