3rd tranche of economic package to focus on agriculture, allied activities: FM Sitharaman

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced that agriculture and allied activities will be the focus of the third tranche of the economic package to combat the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced that agriculture and allied activities will be the focus of the third tranche of the economic package to combat the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman(Screengrab)

“I will announce 11 measures and eight of them relate to strengthening infrastructure, strengthening capacity, building better logistics…. The rest three of the 11 will pertain to governance and administrative reforms,” she said in her third press briefing in as many days.

Sitharaman has been announcing the details of the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, vowing to make the country ‘atmanirbhar’ or self-reliant.

In the first tranche, totalling about Rs 5.9 lakh crore, announced by Sitharaman on Wednesday, loan guarantees for small businesses, shadow banks and power companies.

She had also said the government will set up two debt and equity funds amounting to Rs 700 billion to support stressed businesses, and will contribute to the social security funds of workers for three months.

Sitharaman announced the second tranche of the package on Thursday, which focussed on free food for migrants, more jobs for tribals and those in rural areas, and credit to small enterprises, street vendors and small farmers.

Sitharaman will be holding daily press conferences till Sunday.