The government will address the credit needs of the tiny and small firms, while a separate fund for enterprises in the unorganised sector is proposed, new Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Dinsha Patel said after taking charge.
'I have tried to make it easier for the small scale entrepreneur to do business and cut through the red tape.'
The government has also extended till August 31 the repayment date of short-term crop loan of up to Rs 3 lakh for agriculture and allied activities. The decision, taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will give respite to farmers and also help them take a call on which kharif (summer) crop to grow as sowing picks up with the arrival of southwest monsoon.
A number of micro and small enterprises in the country have expressed fear that there would be large-scale job losses in the sector if the global recessionary trend continues, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.
The interim Budget has attempted to tick all the boxes that could help the Modi government return to power, reports Archis Mohan.
For states like West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, where migration is high, the return of workers could be as much an opportunity as a liability. All states have launched portals to register migrant workers; additional fields like nature of employment and remuneration in the past 2-3 years are being added to help in skill mapping.
'Rather than cutting and pasting from advanced economies, we should use basic economic principles to think about what is right for India at the stage of development at which we are,' says Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian.
'The belief that FDI will shift from China appears to be a strategy of politicians to keep the media busy, chasing irrelevant news to ward off pressure and questions about the government's plans to deal with COVID,' observes Debashis Basu.
Companies, so far, were constrained by the provisions of Articles 370 and 35A, which restricted the purchase of land and hiring manpower.
Demonetisation and GST are the main reasons for the job losses.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would further cut down key policy rates with inflation continuing its downward trend, Punjab National Bank chairman and managing director K C Chakrabarty said.
In a resolution passed at its national assembly in Haridwar, the SJM said the Modi government's proposed strategic divestment of PSEs was an "imprudent business decision" and "against national interest".
'If the government spends Rs 10 lakh crore this year then you would be looking at a GDP growth of minus 5 per cent.' 'If you do not do this, you will be looking at GDP growth between minus nine and minus 10 per cent.'
'Karna is the greatest warrior in the Mahabharata -- in fact, Arjuna is a nobody in front of Karna.' 'But Arjuna had a better advisor in Krishna than Karna.' 'Karna failed because he listened to the wrong advice given by Salya.' 'It just shows wrong advisors can land even the mighty in trouble.'
While, projects, including Rs 23,000 crore Purvanchal Expressway, totalling Rs 60,000 crore have already been launched, the Yogi Adityanath government is fast paving the way for laying the foundation of the remaining projects before the general election dates are announced.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced Rs 3 lakh crore collateral free automatic loan for businesses, including MSMEs, to benefit 45 lakh small businesses. Detailing parts of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package, she said this loan will have a 4-year tenure and will have 12-month moratorium, she said.
Mukesh Ambani-promoted Mumbai Special Economic Zone Company (MSME) has claimed a rehabilitation package drafted by it is better than the one cleared by the government.The MSEZ package offers many attractive monetary benefits and career opportunities.
6EPass coupons mainly for regular flyers who can travel without worrying about ticket price fluctuations
At 47 protests a day, the state has become the most restive in the country and investors are becoming increasingly wary
'The current economic contraction is certainly due to the lockdowns as a response to the pandemic, which is an act of God.' 'Nobody has seen such a thing in the last 100 years.' 'Saying that this was an act of mismanagement is largely incorrect'
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
'One way of doing this could be offering credit guarantee to the banks, say 10 per cent, for fresh loans given to micro, small and medium enterprises,' observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The government is considering to tweak FDI policy in retail sector so as to allow global chains like Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco to open multi-brand stores in non-hilly cities with population less than one million.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
As the government plans to take sector-specific steps to tackle the slump, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon hold talks with representatives from various sectors to get and take steps so that the confidence of those sectors can be restored.
'This government has not created any employment.' 'Forget employment, the government had not done anything in skill development.'
For a borrower, who has serviced his loan without missing any repayment, the banks will be willing to take over the loan, give a top-up, and would offer lower interest rates, says Tinesh Bhasin.
Addressing a rally in Karkardooma in east Delhi, Modi alleged that the AAP and the Congress were provoking people and misinforming them. They were keeping the Constitution and tricolour in the forefront, but the aim was to 'divert attention from the real conspiracy', Modi said ahead of the Delhi elections on February 8.
The chamber has sought clarity from government to remove uncertainty among businesses
It is mind-boggling to find our prime minister putting exports on the back-burner, says Jayanta Roy.
'China feels India will be hard-pressed not to go after China because we are so badly dependent on them -- and that is the reality.'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday hinted at not raising tax rates and providing incentives for manufacturing.
The government propagandists should refrain from premature celebrations and misplaced euphoria: Congress.
'The economy needed 3 or 4 major fixes. The major one was, of course, the direct tax structure, but we ended up complicating the existing convoluted tax structure,' says M R Venkatesh, chartered accountant and lawyer.
'We first need to acknowledge the truth.' 'We are trying to diminish the problem and say, everything is okay and green shoots are emerging.' 'Imagine you are a doctor and not getting accurate medical reports, how do you diagnose and treat the illness?' 'We are not dealing with a terminal illness here, we are dealing with BP and cholesterol, which are imminently curable.'
The government, in February, had released the draft national e-commerce policy proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad.
Central Bank of India's 21.5 per cent assets are either bad or have been restructured.
'Urjit Patel's appointment is a right decision and in the interest of the country.'
'Opportunity for a country like India is huge in terms of wealth creation.' 'That's the reason India is an attractive economy for investors.'
In all, RBI has cut interest rates by 110 bps this year. But this has not yet led to a boost in economic activity. While the growth rate has slowed to a five-year low, consumer confidence is waning and foreign direct investment has plateaued.
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