All you need to know: Third tranche of Centre's stimulus package

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (May 15) announced the third tranche of the economic stimulus package to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. The announcements focused on agriculture and allied activities.

“I will be announcing 11 measures today, of which eight relate to strengthening infrastructure, capacities and building better logistics, while the rest three will pertain to governance and administrative reforms,” she said before making the announcements.

• The minister said funds transfer worth ₹18,700 crores has been done under PM KISAN in past two months and PM Fasal Bima Yojana claims worth ₹6,400 crores have been released in the past two months.
• She said a new scheme has been launched for interest subvention at 2% per annum to dairy cooperatives for 2020-21 aimed at unlocking ₹5,000 crores additional liquidity, benefitting two crore farmers.
• To help the fisheries sector, she said operations of Marine Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture have been relaxed to cover inland fisheries.

Here’s a glimpse of the measures announced by the finance minister On Friday:

The Centre will immediately create a ₹1 lakh crore agri-infrastructure fund for farm gate infrastructure for farmers.

The government will launch a ₹10,000 crore scheme for formalisation of the Micro Food Enterprises (MFE). The scheme promotes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “vocal for local with global outreach”, said the finance minister.

The Centre will launch the ₹20,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for development of marine and inland fisheries. Sitharaman said 55 lakh people are expected to get employment from this programme.

The National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis has been launched with a total outlay of ₹13,343 crore, said the finance minister. This will ensure 100% vaccination of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig population for FMD and brucellosis in India.

An Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund of ₹15,000 crore will be set up, said the minister. This aims at supporting private investment in dairy processing, value addition and cattle feed infrastructure.

The minister said ₹4,000 crore has been allocated for the promotion of herbal cultivation and that 10 lakh hectare will be covered in the next two years. The National Medicinal Plants Board will bring 800-hectare area by developing a corridor of medicinal plants along the banks of river Ganga, she said.

The Indian government will implement a ₹500 crore scheme of infrastructure development related to integrated beekeeping development centres, collection, marketing and storage centres, post-harvest and value addition facilities, she said. This will lead to an increase in income of two lakh bee-keepers, she added.

Operation Greens to be extended from Tomatoes, Onions and Potatoes (TOP) to all fruits and vegetables (TOTAL), said the finance minister.

The Centre will amend the Essential Commodities Act to enable better price realisation for farmers. Agriculture products including cereals, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, onions, and potatoes will be de-regulated, she said.

A facilitative legal framework will be created to enable farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers and exporters in a fair and transparent manner, the finance minister said.

The minister said a central law will be formulated to provide adequate choices to the farmers to sell produce at an attractive price, have barrier-free interstate trade and framework for e-trading of agricultural produce.

(With inputs from agencies)