Sitharaman Extends Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana Till March ’22

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced the widening of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.

File image of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

(Photo: PTI)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, 28 June, announced several fiscal relief measures for the country as the economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic.

She announced that to boost employment, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana has been extended from 30 June 2021 to 31 March 2022.

“Over 21.4 lakh people of nearly 80,000 establishments have already benefited from the scheme,” FM Sitharaman said.

With an approved outlay of Rs 22,810 crore, the scheme entails a subsidy for two years to new employees drawing monthly wages of less than Rs 15,000.

The government would subsidise both employers' and employees' share of provident fund (PF) contribution, amounting to 24 percent of wages for establishments having a strength of up to 1,000 employees.

In the case of a company with more than 1,000 employees, the government would provide subsidy only for the employee’s share – 12 percent of the wages.

ECLGS Gets Additional Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore

Additionally, Sitharaman on Monday also enlarged the scope of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by providing an additional spending limit of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

Accordingly, an overall cap of admissible guarantee under the scheme has been raised from Rs 3 lakh crore announced in May 2020 to Rs 4.5 lakh crore now. The ECGLS was launched in May 2020 as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat package.

So far in three packages, credit disbursal of Rs 2.69 lakh crore has already been given to 1.1 crore units by banks and NBFCs.

Contact intensive sectors already covered under the scheme will continue to get funding. So far Rs 4,000 crore given to these sectors through the window.

The finance minister also unveiled a scheme to give loans of up to Rs 1.25 lakh to 25 lakh to small borrowers at lower interest rates. The focus is on new lending and not on repayment of old loans, she said. The interest rate under the new Credit Guarantee Scheme is 2 percent below the RBI’s prescribed rate, with a loan duration of three years, she announced.

“The new Credit Guarantee Scheme will also help reach out to the smallest of the small borrowers in the hinterland, including in small towns,” Sitharaman added.