Bank credit grows 6.18 per cent, deposits 11 per cent: RBI data

According to Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Bank credit and deposits witnessed a growth of 6.18 per cent and 11 per cent to Rs 102.45 lakh crore (US4 1.45 trillion) and Rs 138.67 lakh crore (US4 1.96 trillion), respectively, in the fortnight ended June 19, 2020. Whereas, in the fortnight ended June 21, 2019, bank credit had stood at Rs 96.48 lakh crore (US$ 1.36 trillion) and deposits at Rs 124.92 lakh crore (US4 1.77 trillion).

In the previous fortnight that ended on June 5 this year, advances had grown 6.24 per cent and deposits by 11.28 per cent.

According to a recent report by the rating agency Crisil, bank credit growth is likely to drop to a multi-decadal low of 0-1 per cent in 2020-21 as economic activity is sharply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For May 2020, the non-food credit growth slowed to 6.8 per cent year-on-year from 11.4 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, as per RBI data.

The outstanding incremental non-food credit stood at Rs 90.3 lakh crore (US$ 1.28 trillion) as of May 22, 2020, against Rs 84.51 lakh crore (US$ 1.19 trillion) on May 24, 2019.

In May 2020, bank loan growth to industry slowed down to 1.7 per cent from 6.4 per cent in the corresponding month last year.

The loan growth to the services sector decreased to 11.2 per cent in May, compared with 14.8 per cent a year ago.

Personal loans growth decelerated to 10.6 per cent in May 2020, against 16.9 per cent in May 2019, RBI data showed.

 

Jio's string of deals drives up PE investments 12 per cent in H1 2020 to US$ 18.8 billion

The private equity (PE) investments registered a 12 per cent increase in the first half of this calendar year to US$ 18.8 billion (across 341 deals). This rise was driven by a string of deals struck by Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms. Though, this was despite the subdued April-June quarter for PE activity on account of the coronavirus crisis, according to a report by financial data tracker Venture Intelligence.

In 2019, during same period, PE investments worth US$ 16.8 billion (across 503 deals) were recorded.

In HI 2020, Jio Platforms accounted for 51 per cent of the total investment value, as per the data.

Jio Platforms' US$ 9.5 billion private equity haul, excluding Facebook’s US$ 5.7 billion strategic investment, was led by investors from Middle East to the US. KKR, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Vista Equity Partners invested US$ 1.5 billion each, while by Silver Lake Partners and Mubadala Investment invested over a US$ 1 billion each.

H1 2020 witnessed 24 PE/VC investments worth US$ 100 million or more, down from 37 such transactions in the same period last year.

Without the Jio investments, PE-VC investments during H1 2020 would have been 45 per cent lower year-on-year, according to the Venture Intelligence data.

At US$ 4.1 billion across 270 deals, venture capital investments fell 11 per cent in value terms and 31 per cent in terms of volumes when compared with the corresponding period in 2019, which had witnessed US$ 4.6 billion across 393 transactions. There was a decrease in VC investments by 52 per cent in value terms year-on-year to US$ 1 billion in the April-June quarter.

Daily average electronic transactions increased from 66 Lakh in 2014 to 16.3 Crore in 2020; E-services increases from 2,463 in 2014 to 3,858 till May 2020

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Communications and Law & Justice, has said that the digital journey has focused on empowerment, inclusion and digital transformation and its positive impact is being felt in all aspects of the lives of Indian citizens. While addressing a video conference marking celebration of five years journey of India's Digital India Programme here, today, he stated that in the current pandemic scenario, thanks to JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar an Mobile), people are able to work from home, people are able make digital payment, students are able to learn through TV, Mobile and Laptop, patients are able to take tele-consultation, and farmers in remote corner of India is able to get PM-KISAN benefits directly in their bank accounts.

The conference was organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to celebrate 5 Years of Digital India progressing towards Digital Bharat - AatmaNirbhar Bharat. This conference was graced by the presence of MoIT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Additional Chief Secretaries of some States, Shri Nandan Nilekani, the IT Secretaries of all States, representatives from Ministries, Industry and the academia. The conference was attended by 1,500 delegates all over the world.

The Digital India journey in the past 5 years has centred around empowerment, inclusion, digital transformation. It has positively impacted all aspects of the lives of Indian citizens identity management through Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer, Common Services Centres, DigiLocker, mobile based UMANG services, participatory governance through MyGov, Jeevan Pramaan, to UPI, Ayushman Bharat, e-Hospital, PM-Kisan, e-NAM, Soil Health Cards, SWAYAM, SWAYAM PRABHA, National Scholarship Portal, e-Pathshala, and so on. A ‘National AI Portal’ and ‘Responsible AI for Youth’ was launched recently to lay the foundation for an AI-powered future. Digital India’s initiatives have also played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 situation, such as Aarogya Setu, E-Sanjeevani, sensitisation through MyGov and Social media platforms etc.

Pointing  out that the number of e-Services has increased from 2,463 in 2014 to 3,858 till May 2020 and daily average electronic transactions have increased from 66 lakh in 2014 to 16.3 crore in 2020, the Union Minister shared that Aadhaar has been issued to 125.7 crore residents and 4,216 crore authentications have been facilitated. “Direct Benefit Transfer to the tune of Rs 11.1 lakh crore (US$ 157.47 billion) has been disbursed for 426 schemes from 56 Ministries and has led to the saving of Rs 1.7 lakh crore (US$ 24.12 billion) due. Jan Dhan Accounts have reached 38.73 crore beneficiaries, with a total of Rs 1.33 lakh crore (US$ 18.87 billion) in beneficiaries bank accounts. Mobile and internet connections are being used by 117 crore and 68.8 crore users, respectively. DigiLocker, launched on July 1, 2015, has 378 crore issued documents. Unified Mobile App for New-Age Governance (UMANG) has 860+ services operational and more than 3 crore downloads have taken place, he further added. MyGov has been launched to facilitate participatory governance in the country, with a total of 1.17 crore registered participants, while facilitating the Mann Ki Baat of the Prime Minister.

Emphasizing the Digital India’s initiatives during the COVID-19 situation, such as Aarogya Setu for its ground-breaking development time of 3 weeks and localisation in 12 Indian languages with 13 crore downloads, with additional 3 crore for Kai OS, he informed that it has helped identify over 350 COVID-19 hotspots. He further said that sensitization through MyGov and Social Media Platforms have played a crucial role in tackling the pandemic through user friendly graphics, video, quotes to citizens through the MyGov website and through all social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedln, Telegram, and YouTube. He also spoke briefly about other initiatives such as E-Sanjeevani, SAMHAR-COVID-19, Ayush Sanjivani Mobile app, and VC and e-Office.

While concluding, he reiterated that Digital India’s achievements can be attributed to the united efforts of Central Government, State Governments, Industries and Academia, all key parts of Team India. Lastly, he stated that India’s talent pool of skilled people, technology prowess and geo-political advantages are poised to make India an inspiring country in the 21st Century for the welfare of Indians and the world.

 During the event, a panel discussion was held regarding public digital platforms. Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY spoke about ‘Building Digital Government Platforms for the Digital Economy of the Future’. Shri Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys, spoke about the relevance and success of public-private partnership models in e-Government Development, where he touched four dimensions-Government as an enabler of technology, as a customer of Technology, as a platform provider and the Government as collaborator to provide solutions. He congratulated Hon’ble Minister on the successful implementation of Digital India in the country. The building of Aatma Nirbhar Digital Systems also deliberated extensively. ‘AatmaNirbharta’ or ‘Self-Reliance’ implies development of in-house capacity and capability to drive economic and social development of the country.

Dr Reddy's partners Fujifilm to launch Avigan for COVID-19 treatment

Indian generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories entered in partnership with the Japanese pharma giant Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and Global Response Aid (GRA) for development, manufacture, and sale of antiviral drug Avigan (favipiravir) tablets for potential treatment of COVID-19.

Under this agreement, Dr Reddy’s is given exclusive rights for India and grants both Dr Reddy’s and GRA the rights to develop, sell and distribute Avigan in all countries other than Japan, China, and Russia.

An upfront license fee and royalties on sales would be given by Dr Reddy’s and GRA to Fujifilm.

Earlier in 2011, Dr Reddy’s had formed a joint venture with Fujifilm for generic drugs business in the Japanese market, but both the companies called off the venture after two years as the venture did not take off.

In 2014, Fujifilm Toyama Chemical received approval for manufacturing and selling Avigan tablet as an influenza antiviral drug in Japan. This drug is to be considered for use only when there is an outbreak of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections in which other influenza antiviral drugs are either not effective or insufficiently effective. The Japanese government decided to use the drug as a countermeasure against such influenza viruses.

Fujifilm developed Avigan and is presently under trail in several parts of globe targeting COVID-19 patients and a large trial result is expected this month. A clinical study in Japan and the US is currently being conducted by Fujifilm group and it has been partnering with both the Japanese and overseas drug makers.

According to a statement released by Dr Reddy’s, GRA and it will obtain from Fujifilm an array of data on Avigan’s preclinical and clinical studies accumulated so far. Dr Reddy’s and GRA will use this data for clinical studies, targeting COVID-19 in regions where the infection was spreading.

“Dr Reddy’s and GRA shall introduce the product in the market post all applicable approvals in the respective countries,” said the statement.

It will also obtain rights from Fujifilm to use Avigan’s patents of formulation and manufacturing method, added the statement. The Hyderabad-headquartered drug maker will establish a setup for manufacturing drugs of the same quality as Avigan. Moreover, Dr Reddy’s said it will use GRA’s global sales network to supply the manufactured drugs swiftly and in a stable manner.

Recently, Glenmark has received emergency approval for the generic favipiravir from India’s drug controller to manufacture the drug but the drug is yet to be part of the treatment protocol reviewed last week by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

GST Revenue collection for June 2020; Rs 90,917 crore gross GST revenue collected in the month of June

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June 2020, is Rs 90,917 crore (US$ 12.90 billion) of which CGST is Rs 18,980 crore (US$ 2.69 billion), SGST is Rs 23,970 crore (US$ 3.40 billion), IGST is Rs 40,302 crore (US$ 5.72 billion) (including Rs 15,709 crore (US$ 2.23 billion) collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 7,665 crore (US$ 1.09 billion) (including Rs 607 crore (US$ 86.11 million) collected on import of goods).

The government has settled Rs 13,325 crore (US$ 1.89 billion) to CGST and Rs 11,117 crore (US$ 1.58 billion) to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of June 2020 is Rs 32,305 crore (US$ 4.58 billion) for CGST and Rs 35,087 crore (US$ 4.98 billion) for the SGST.

The revenues for the month are 91 per cent of the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, the revenues from import of goods were 71 per cent and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 97 per cent of the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. During the month of June, returns of February, March, and April 2020 have also been filed in addition to some returns of May 2020 since Government has allowed a relaxed time schedule for filing of GST returns. Some returns of May 2020, which would have otherwise got filed in June 2020, will get filed during first few days of July 2020.

The revenues during the financial year has been impacted due to COVID-19, firstly due to the economic impact of the pandemic and secondly due to the relaxations given by the Government in filing of returns and payment of taxes due to the pandemic. However, figures of past three months show recovery in GST revenues. The GST collections for the month of April was Rs 32,294 crore (US$ 4.58 billion) which was 28 per cent of the revenue collected during the same month last year and the GST collections for the month of May was Rs 62,009 crore (US$ 8.80 billion) which was 62 per cent of the revenue collected during the same month last year. The GST collections for the first quarter of the year is 59 per cent of the revenue collected during the same quarter last year. However, a large number of taxpayers still have time to file their return for the month of May 2020

Estimated cost for distribution of food grains (Rice and Wheat) and pulses under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana during April - November 2020 is around Rs 1,48,938 crore

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana till the end of November 2020. He said that the PMGKAY scheme is extended from July till the end of November 2020. 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 Department of Food and PD has worked out estimated cost under TPDS @ 5 Kg per person per month for three months i.e. April-June 2020 would entail an estimated subsidy of Rs 44,131 crore (US$ 6.26 billion) taking the estimated Economic Cost of Rs 37,267.60 (US$ 528.69)/MT for rice and Rs 26,838.40 (US$ 380.74)/MT for wheat (as per BE 2020-2021).

Further, while under NFSA, the expenditure towards intra state transportation and handling charges for movement from FCI depots to Fair Price Shops (FPSs) as also dealer's margin etc. is shared between Govt. of India and States/UTs as per the sharing pattern and norms for expenditure on this account as per rules framed under NFSA. As Govt. of India is bearing the entire expenditure towards this Scheme, an expenditure of Rs 1,930 crore (US$ 273.80 million) would be required to be met towards transportation and handling and FPS dealers' margins etc. by Government of India as per the existing norms in this regard under NFSA. ln view of the above, the total estimated expenditure to be borne by Government of India towards food grain subsidy and expenditure on account intra state transportation, dealer's margin including additional dealer's margin towards use of ePOS would be Rs 46,061 crore (US$ 6.53 billion).

On the basis of above, an estimated cost of 32 million tonne (12 Million Tonne for April-June 2020 and 20 LMT for July-November 2020) for distribution of food grains (Rice and Wheat) from April to November 2020 will be approx. Rs 1,22,829 crore (US$ 17.43 billion).

As per Department of Consumer Affairs note, the estimated expenditure towards distribution of pulses is Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 709.32 million) for the period April-June 2020. Accordingly, the estimated expenditure for distribution of pulses during the period April-November 2020 will be Rs 11,800 crore (US$ 1.67 billion) approx.

In addition to above, the estimated cost for distribution of food grains to migrant labours for the period of two months is Rs 3,109.52 crore (US$ 441.13 million). The foregone cost of Central Issue Price for food grains which comes to approximately Rs 1,400 crore (US$ 198.61 million) per month entails an expenditure of approximately Rs 11,200 crore (US$ 1.59 billion).

Thus, the estimated cost for distribution of food grains (Rice and Wheat) and pulses will be Rs 1,48,938 crore (US$ 21.13 billion) approx.

Global PE firms eye India's auto components sector

Top private equity (PE) firms such as Temasek, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Samara Capital, and Baring Private Equity Asia are actively exploring investment opportunities in India’s auto parts manufacturing sector. These firms are convinced that India’s auto parts industry has long-term potential to provide to the local markets and overseas. Thus, companies are focusing on investing on the low market valuations of most of these auto parts vendors due to COVID-related uncertainties to purchase minority or controlling stakes. These firms are looking for makers of parts for internal combustion engine vehicles, and electric mobility.

According to some sources, the PE firms have approached some companies based in the automotive hubs of Chennai and Pune in the past few months.

The auto component manufacturers have been facing financial stress due to drastic decrease in vehicle sales since FY19, worsened by the lockdown since March-end. This situation has left promoters with an urgent need of funds to ramp up production and invest for the future but due to weak demand and depressed valuations, options have been limited. Banks and other financial institutions are also been careful of extending credit due to fear of loans turning bad. Some promoters are worried about taking on fresh debt, making PE investments a more viable option.

“The current fiscal will be a tough one for the auto sector since sales were down by almost 18 per cent last fiscal. Also, most promoters have invested heavily because of the upgrade to Bharat Stage VI norms. So, most of them will need partners who can guide them on investment and acquisitions in the long term as well as provide capital in the short and medium term," said the first person connected with deals.

According to a survey of the top 300 auto parts makers by ratings agency Crisil, combined revenues of the sector are likely to drop 16 per cent this fiscal due to the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown. EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of these companies is expected to drop 30-35 per cent in FY21.

“Possibly for the first time in over a decade, we are seeing demand from OEMs, exports and the aftermarket in the red this fiscal, in addition to demand slowdown for two consecutive years," said Mr Anuj Sethi, analyst, Crisil.

According to another source, promoters of auto component companies are also looking for opportunities outside India, especially in electric mobility, and the presence of a global PE investor on board is likely to help in arranging capital and other aspects of managing operations overseas.

“PE firms always look at the long-term potential and India is the only market expected to grow in the next decade as markets like China and US had already slowed before the pandemic. Most PE firms have also realized that current valuations make these companies quite lucrative and promoters also need capital. We expect consolidation in the component industry in the next two years," said another source.

Though, there has been no official announcement from any of the companies.

Carlyle to acquire about 25 per cent stake in Airtel's data centre business for about Rs 1,780 crore

Bharti Airtel and Comfort Investments II, an affiliated entity of CAP V Mauritius Limited, an investment fund managed and advised by affiliated entities of The Carlyle Group announced an agreement under which Comfort Investments II will invest US$ 235 million in Nxtra Data Limited, a subsidiary of Airtel.

The valuation of Nxtra has increased to US$ 1.2 billion after this deal. On completion of the transaction, Carlyle will hold a stake of around 25 per cent in the business and Airtel will hold the remaining stake of approximately 75 per cent. Regulatory approval is required by the company for the transaction, including approval from the Competition Commission of India.

Nxtra is headquartered in New Delhi and offers data centre services to Indian and global enterprises, hyperscalers, start-ups, SMEs, and governments. It has nation-wide portfolio of 10 data centres and more than 120 edge data centres provides customers with co-location services, cloud infrastructure, managed hosting, data backup, disaster recovery, and remote infrastructure management.

An increase in demand for secure data centres is seen in India, as businesses undertake digital transformation and consumer demand for digital services continues to increase. The expansion of hyperscalers across the region following the Government’s directive on data localization is driving a lot of this demand, with other market drivers including the growth in user data and increase in cloud penetration.

Nxtra is building multiple large data centres across the country to capture the significant growth opportunities in India. In 2019, company commissioned a state-of-the-art data centre in Pune and is expanding more across Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata. The funds from this transaction will be utilised by the company to continue scaling up its infrastructure and offerings across the country.

Mr Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said, “At Airtel, we have built a robust data centre portfolio that is future ready and scalable. For us, the security and data privacy requirements of our customers are our top priorities, which we have established as a key differentiator for our data centre offerings. Rapid digitization has opened a massive growth opportunity for data centres in India and we plan to accelerate our investments to become a major player in this segment. We are delighted to have Carlyle as a strategic partner in this exciting journey, particularly given their experience in this industry, and look forward to working with them."

Mr Neeraj Bharadwaj, Managing Director of the Carlyle Asia Partners advisory team, said, “India is set to become one of the largest markets in the world for digital services. Airtel, with its proven track record of solid execution and customer focus, is well positioned to leverage the potential growth of data centres in India. We look forward to collaborating with Airtel to unlock the full potential of Nxtra."

Mr Greg Zeluck, Co-Head, Carlyle Asia Partners advisory team, added, “Airtel is a high-quality partner in India with whom Carlyle executives have built a strong and constructive relationship with over many years. We are delighted to be collaborating on this together, and believe Airtel’s nation-wide network and strong governance coupled with Carlyle’s data centre experience and operational capabilities creates a compelling partnership that will help Nxtra to capture growing demand as data usage continues to surge."

 

Union HRD Minister virtually launches World's first-ever Online B.Sc. Degree in Programming and Data Science

The Union Minister of HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank' today virtually launched World’s first ever online B.Sc. degree in Programming and Data Science in the presence of Minister of State for HRD, Shri Sanjay Dhotre. The programme has been prepared and offered by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), which is ranked No.1 in India Rankings 2020 by NIRF. This programme is open to anyone who has passed Class XII, with English and Maths at the Class X level, and enrolled in any on-campus UG course. Dr Pawan Kumar Goenka, Chairman, IIT, Madras, Board of Governors, Director and the faculty of the IIT, Madras, Chairman, AICTE, Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, Additional Secretary, MHRD, Shri Rakesh Ranjan and other Senior officials of the Ministry were also present during the launch.

Data Science is one of the fastest growing sectors that is predicted to create 11.5 million jobs by 2026. Online education is a trend being rapidly embraced for high quality education on a large scale. Faculty from IIT Madras are addressing the need of this sector using online education processes and present an inclusive and affordable education model that will extend IIT’s reach by orders of magnitude.

While addressing the participants Shri Pokhriyal congratulated the team of IIT Madras for the launch of the world's first-ever online B.Sc. degree program in Data Science and Programming. The Minister informed that the current batch of students who are completing their Class XII in 2020 are eligible to apply. Graduates and working professionals can also take up this programme. Shri Pokhriyal added that this unique offering removes all barriers of age, discipline or geographic location and provides access to a world-class curriculum in data science which is in huge demand for skilled professionals.

 The Minister said that IIT Madras has a rich history of continuous innovation and success and its emergence as rank 1 in the NIRF rankings consistently underscores the team’s talent, mission, and vision. Analysis reveals that every year 7 to 7.5 lakh Indian students go abroad in search of better education and our talent as well as our revenue goes outside the country. Institutions such as IIT Madras have the vision and mission to help the nation move forward on its path to self-reliance by bringing such quality education and unique courses right here in India. Even during this challenging time, when the nation is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone is forced to be at home, the IITs have come together to innovate for the sake of the nation.

Shri Pokhriyal said that the students who are currently enrolled in a different on-campus program anywhere in India can pursue this degree program without needing to switch careers or courses. Even employers who want to upskill their employees can consider this option without loss of productive time on the job. He further said that the program brightens up job prospects for students in a lucrative field, provides opportunity for working professionals to switch careers and also provides learners an opportunity to get a degree from a recognized institution such as IIT Madras.

Congratulating the IIT Madras team on the launch of the program, Shri Dhotre said that in today's world education is a continuous process. Students and professionals must continue to upgrade their knowledge to stay competitive and work within the constraints of time and location. This has become even more challenging due to the prevailing COVID situation. He added that the science and programming is a field of most significant growth for the industry and with this online degree opportunity in this important area, IIT Madras will be able to reach many more students. He Minister was confident that this course will reach a diversity of learners as it provides multiple entry and exit points and serves as a priceless contribution to the nation.

The programme will be delivered on a state-of-the-art online portal and will attract learners from even remote parts of India where outreach of digital literacy is minimal and will help them stay ahead in their career journeys. To ensure that the online learning platform is closest to a classroom learning experience, the program will have videos from the faculty, weekly assignments, and in-person invigilated exams just like any other regular course. The program will hone students’ skills in managing data, visualizing patterns to gain managerial insights, model uncertainties and build models that assist in producing forecasts to make effective business decisions.

This unique online offering will be offered in three different stages - Foundational Programme, Diploma Programme and Degree Programme. At each stage, students will have the freedom to exit from the program and receive a Certificate, Diploma, or a Degree, respectively, from IIT Madras. Based on the eligibility, interested candidates will have to fill a form and pay a nominal fee of Rs 3,000 (US$ 42.55) for the qualifier exam. Learners will get access to the four weeks of course content of four subjects (Mathematics, English, Statistics and Computational Thinking). These students will go through the course lectures online, submit online assignments and write an in-person qualifier exam at the end of four weeks. In contrast to the typical admission processes of IITs which are constrained due to the limited number of in-campus seats, in this programme all students who clear (with an overall score of 50 per cent) the qualifier exam will be eligible to register for the foundational program.

For more details about the programme, please log on to www.onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in.

PM addresses nation and announces extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana; As the fight against coronavirus shifts to Unlock 2, PM asks everyone to follow regulations with same seriousness as during Lockdown

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the nation and announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till the end of November.

Helping hand to the poor

Prime Minister emphasized that provision of food to those in need during lockdown has been the foremost priority of the country. As soon as lockdown was announced, the government brought about PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, under which a package of Rs 1.75 lakh crore (US$ 24.83 billion) for the poor was announced.

He noted that in the last three months, Rs 31,000 crore (US$ 4.40 billion) has been transferred in the Jan Dhan accounts of almost 20 crore poor families, Rs 18,000 crore (US$ 2.55 billion) has been transferred to the bank accounts of more than 9 crore farmers and Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.09 billion) is being spent on PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, which has been started to provide employment opportunities.

Extension of PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till November

Prime Minister observed that the enormity of the decision to provide free ration for three months to more than 80 crore people ie providing 5 kg free rice/wheat to each member of the family, along with providing 1 kg pulses to each family, per month, has made the entire world take notice. The number of people who were provided free ration is several times the population of many large countries, he said.

Prime Minister noted that with the commencement of the rainy season, most of the work takes place in the agriculture sector. Also, several festivals take place one after the other, including Guru Purnima, Raksha bandhan, Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Dussehra, Deepawali, Chhath Puja, among others. He announced that keeping in mind that requirements as well as expenditure increase during this time, the government has decided to extend PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till Deepawali and Chhath Puja, i.e. the scheme will continue to remain applicable from July till the end of November. During this five-month period, more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per month. Along with providing 5 kg free rice/wheat to each member of a family, 1 kg free whole chana will also be provided to each family per month.

The government will spend more than Rs 90,000 crore (US$ 12.77 billion) towards the extension of the scheme, the Prime Minister said, adding that if the amount spent towards it in the previous three months is added together, a total of almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore (US$ 21.28 billion) would be spent towards the scheme. He credited and thanked the hard-working farmers and honest taxpayers for making it possible for the government to procure and distribute free food grains.

Prime Minister underlined that the country is moving towards the institution of ‘one nation, one ration card’, which will be of immense benefit to the poor who travel to other states in search of work.

Staying safe during Unlock 2

Prime Minister noted that the shift of the fight against coronavirus to Unlock 2 coincides with the weather which results in several ailments. He asked everyone to take care of their health. He observed that due to timely decisions like lockdown, it has been possible to save the lives of lakhs of people and the death rate in the country is amongst the lowest in the world. However, irresponsible and negligent behaviour has been on the rise during Unlock 1, he said, adding that earlier people were more careful about usage of mask, washing hands for more than 20 seconds several times during the day and maintaining ‘do gazdoori’. He emphasized that when more being more careful is necessary, rise of negligence is a cause of concern.

Prime Minister said that regulations need to be followed with the same seriousness as during Lockdown, especially in the Containment Zones. He exhorted people to spread awareness amongst those not following such rules and regulations, giving example of the Prime Minister of a country being fined Rs 13,000 (US$ 184.42) for not wearing mask in a public place. He said that local administration in India will need to act with same alacrity, since no one, including the Prime Minister, is above the rule of law.

Looking ahead

Prime Minister said that in the coming times, government will continue to take further steps to empower the poor and the needy. Economic activities will also be enhanced, with due precautions in place. He reiterated the pledge to work towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and to be vocal for local, while also asking people to be careful, use mask/face cover and continue following the mantra of maintaining ‘do gaz doori’.