Discussion on the recent cabinet decisions

Participants are Shekhar Iyar, Political Analyst and Nilabh Shrivastav Journalist

Context:

The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, took some important decisions.The decisions were made to cover the post COVID-19 situation and to minimize the impacts of pandemic induced lockdown.

Background –

The briefing of the cabinet was addressed by Union Cabinet ministers Prakash Javadekar & Narendra Singh Tomar.
Cabinet Meeting focused on:

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM-GKY) & Ujjwala benefits for three months
Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) for urban migrants/poor
Scheme for funding facility under ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’

Details-

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for combating the economic impact of COVID-19 for five more months i.e. July to November 2020.
The scheme will cover the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) along with others.
During this five-month period, more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per month along with 1 kg free whole chana to each family per month.
The government will spend more than Rs 90,000 crore towards the extension of the scheme.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PM-GKY) & Ujjwala benefits for three months

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to extend the time frame for the Ujjwala beneficiaries to the benefit from ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana’ for three months from 1 July 2020.
The government had announced a relief package called ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana’ aimed at providing protection cover to the poor and neglected people of the society who had been most affected by the pandemic.
The relief also included a component for the poor families who had availed LPG connection under PMUY.
Under the PMGKY-Ujjwala scheme, it was decided to provide free refill cylinders to consumers of PMUY for a period of 3 months from 01 April 2020.
The extension will benefit those PMUY beneficiaries who have been credited with the advance for buying the cylinder, but have not been able to purchase the refill.
The beneficiaries who already have the advance transferred to their account can now take the free refill delivery till 30th September.

Affordable Rental Housing Complexes for urban migrants / poor

As a sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) ,the cabinet has given its approval for the development of low-rent residential complexes for urban migrants / poor.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had launched the scheme for low-rent residential complexes (ARHC) for urban migrants / poor as a sub-scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister on 14 May 2020.
COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive reverse migration of workers/ urban poor in the country who come from rural areas or small towns seeking better employment opportunities in urban areas.
Usually, these migrants live in slums, informal/ unauthorized colonies or peri-urban areas to save rental charges.
Under the scheme existing vacant government funded housing complexes will be converted in ARHCs through Concession Agreements for 25 years.
A large part of the workforce in manufacturing industries, service providers in hospitality and construction or other sectors will have access to affordable housing and will benefit from this scheme in future.

Scheme for funding facility under ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’

The Cabinet meeting gave its approval to the new Countrywide Central Sector Scheme-Agricultural Infrastructure Fund.
The scheme will provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.
Under the scheme, Rs. One Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Group (SHG), Farmers etc
The loans will be disbursed in four years, with the approval of Rs 10,000 crore in the current financial year and Rs 30,000 crore in the next three financial years, respectively.
The idea is to promote agricultural activities along with creating numerous job opportunities in the rural areas and encourage FPOs to take the advantage of loans to create suitable infrastructure.