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| Rs.1000 Crore to be provided for Welfare Scheme for tea workers of Assam and West Bengal especially Women and Children |
NEW DELHI (Lampe):- The Government has
taken several measures to protect the weaker and vulnerable sections of the
society, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. While presenting the Union
Budget 2021-22 in Parliament today, the Union Minister for Finance and
Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that within 48 hours of
declaring a three-week-long complete lockdown, the Prime Minister announced the
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana(PMGKY). Valued at Rs.2.76 lakh crore, the
PMGKY provided free food grain to 800 million people, free cooking gas for 80
million families for months, and cash directly to over 400 million farmers,
women, the elderly, the poor, and the needy.
In pursuance of the
measures taken for the weaker sections, the Finance Minister announced that to
further facilitate credit flow under the scheme of Stand Up India for SCs, STs,
and women, it is proposed to reduce the margin money requirement
from 25% to 15%, and to also include loans for activities allied to
agriculture.
The Finance Minister
proposed to provide Rs. 1,000 crore for the welfare of Tea workers
especially women and their children in Assam and West Bengal for which
a special scheme will be devised.
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Smt. Nirmala
Sitharaman disclosed that a target of establishing 750 Eklavya Model
Residential Schools in the tribal areas have been laid out. The Finance Minister
said that it is proposed to increase the unit cost of each such school
from Rs. 20 crore to Rs. 38 crore, and for hilly and difficult areas, to Rs. 48
crore. This would help in creating robust infrastructure facilities for the
tribal students.
She further said that
the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme, for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, has
been revamped and the Central Assistance in this regard has been enhanced. A
total of Rs. 35,219 crore for 6 years till 2025-2026 is being allocated, the
Minister highlighted. This will benefit 4 crore SC students, she said.
The Finance Minister
also said that the outlay for the MSME sector is being increased to Rs. 15,700
crore this year, which is more than double of the current year’s BE.
Measures to increase
Employability of Youth
The Government
proposes to amend the Apprenticeship Act with a view to further enhancing
apprenticeship opportunities for the youth. The Finance Minister said that the
existing scheme of the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) for providing
post-education apprenticeship, training of graduates and diploma holders in
Engineering will be realigned with the provision of over Rs. 3,000 crore.
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