Snapshot
- PM Modi addressed the nation at 7:30 PM on New Year’s Eve
- He announced housing schemes for the poor and the middle class
- The schemes include decreased interest rates for housing loans
- He also announced schemes for farmers, pregnant women and senior citizens
- The speech also focused on MSMEs and assitance
- It comes a day after the deadline to deposit scrapped notes expired
Assistance for Senior Citizens
A significant portion of India’s population consists of senior citizens, Modi said. He added that the government is also working on offering schemes for them. Thus, there has been an increase in the interest rate in large amounts of money they deposit in their accounts, thereby leading to an increase in their annual returns on the amount.
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Assistance for Pregnant Women
The speech also touched upon the aid to be provided to pregnant women in the country.
Relief for Farmers
The address also ushered in relief for farmers.
There has been a 9 percent increase in offtake of fertilisers. The government will also waive interest for 60 days on loans taken by farmers from district cooperative central banks and primary societies.Narendra Modi
The PM also spoke of empowering farmers with RuPay cards.
As for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), Modi said:
The credit guarantee for micro, small and medium enterprises has been raised to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore.
Banks have been asked to raise cash credit limit for small business to 25 percent from 20 percent, he added.
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Published: 29 Dec 2016, 1:20 PM IST