Sitharaman's relief measures for migrant workers, farmers; here’s what experts say

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday unveiled the second tranche of measures under the economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Steps announced in the second tranche focused on migrant workers with a plan to provide more jobs to them under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The government has also decided to distribute free food grains to migrant workers, who do not hold ration cards issued by the state they belong to, for the next two months.

In order to support street vendors, the Centre plans to launch a Rs 5,000 crore credit facility within a month. The Finance Minister said that over 2 crore wage seekers have managed to find work under the NREGA. Other measures include the extension of the credit-linked housing subsidy scheme till March 2021 for the lower income middle class group.

A separate set of measures has been announced for farmers, where Rs 30,000 crore will be available to small farmers via National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), as an emergency working capital fund. Separately Rs 2 lakh crore will be made available as concessional credit under the kisan credit card.