Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today addressed the media on key economic issues. The following schemes are announced for Central Government Employees in this meeting :

1. The interest-free advance of Rs 10,000 under the Special Festival Advance Scheme to be paid back in 10 instalments.
2. The one-time disbursement of Special Festival Advance Scheme is expected to amount to ₹4,000 crore; if given by all state governments, another ₹8,000 crores is expected to be disbursed. Employees can spend this on any festival.
3. Special Festival Advance Scheme for non-gazetted employees is being revived as a one-time measure, for gazetted employees too.
4. All central govt. employees can now get an interest-free advance of Rs.10,000, in the form of a prepaid RuPay Card, to be spent by March 31, 2021
5. Special Festival Advance Scheme is being revived as a one-time measure. All central govt. employees can now get interest-free advance of Rs. 10,000, recoverable in maximum 10 installments: Finance Minister
6. Employees will get pre-loaded Rupay Card of the advance value
7. Under LTC Cash Voucher Scheme, government employees can opt to receive cash amounting to leave encashment plus 3 times the ticket fare, to buy items that attract GST of 12% or more. Only digital transactions allowed, GST invoice to be produced, said Sitharaman.
8. Under the previous Special Festival Advance scheme only non-gazetted officers were eligible to avail benefits of the scheme but this time all central government employees will be eligible for the scheme, Ms Sitharaman added.
9. The government also allowed its employees to spend travel allowances that are an income-tax-exempt part of their salaries on goods and services, Ms Sitharaman told a news briefing.

“This is expected to create a consumer demand of about ₹ 28,000 crore,” she said

Also check: Finance minister declared that all central government employees would get LTC cash voucher scheme and special festival advance

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Government employees can elect to earn cash amounting to leave encashment and 3 times ticket fare to buy items that attract GST of at least 12 percent under the LTC Cash Voucher Scheme

Finance minister declared that all central government employees would get LTC cash voucher and special festival advance schemes

Finance Minister Sitharaman, in an effort to stimulate demand and increase consumer spending in preparation for the next holiday season, have announced Travel (LTC) casheat and special festival schemes for government employees. “We want to encourage these people to boost demand for the benefit of the least fortunate,” said the Finance Minister. The indications are that the savings of government and organised sector employees have increased.

Under the LTC cash voucher system , government servants may opt to receive cash in cash and 3 times ticket fare to purchase items with a GST level of at least 12%.

Also check: Central Government Employees now get LTC advance ahead of 4 months of journey

If central government staff prefer these advantages, the expense would be roughly 5.675 crore. This facility can also be used by workers of PSBs & PSUs, who are subject to a cost of 1.900 crores. The market injection in the economy would amount to approximately 19,000 crores, according to the Finance Minister.

By way of the Advance Scheme Special Festival, the government has also declared that it would restore the advancement for Central Government Employees until 31 March. A pre-loaded Rupay card provides an interest-free advance of € 10 000 and is recoverable in 10 monthly instalments. The demand is expected to reach around 8,000 crore at least.

The press conference of the Finance Minister is taking place when the GDP or gross domestic product of this country contract a record of 23.9% in April-June, when the quarter captured fully the damage caused from the restrictions on coronavirus and is anticipated to decrease by the Reserve Bank of India in total by 9.5% during the current financial year.

Also check: 7th Pay Commission Advances

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the government and the Reserve Bank are taking measures to bring down the digital transaction cost with an aim to move towards a less-cash economy.

Chairing the 5th Meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his ministry, Jaitley said digital transactions are a parallel mechanism, not a substitute, for cash transactions and “cashless economy is actually a less cash economy as no economy can be fully cashless”.

He told the participating Members of Parliament (MPs) that the government is trying to encourage digitisation as much as possible because an excessive cash economy has its own social and economic costs and consequences.

Less cash, he said, can be gradually substituted to the possible extent through digital transactions.

According to an official release, Jaitley said the Centre has announced various incentives to attract people to shift to digital mode of payment and the response is quite positive so far in this regard.

Jaitley further said the government and the RBI have taken various steps to bring down the cost of digital transactions and specifically mentioned about MDR charges.

The Finance Minister added that 55 per cent petrol pumps in the country are accepting payment through digital means and

with the government providing incentives, more people are switching to this mode.

Jaitley further said the government is conscious of the need of cyber security of high level to secure digital payments.

He told the MPs that the government and RBI are fully aware of cyber security challenges and ensuring strong firewalls around the systems.

As part of efforts to promote e-payments, the Finance Minister said the government is providing various incentives for digital transactions including on debit card use.

Regarding the availability of POS machines, he said POS machines are manufactured by two companies in China and the government has waived duties on them so that these machines become cheaper and reach the shopkeepers easily.

PTI

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The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Government is working on a target date of 1st April, 2017 for the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the country. He said that till 16th September, 2017, that is one year after the provisions of the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 being brought into force, the Constitution empowers the Central Government to levy excise duty on manufacturing; and service tax on the supply of services. The Finance Minister said that similarly the Constitution Amendment Act empowers the State Governments to levy sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT) on the sale of goods till that time i.e. 16th September, 2016. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that so far the Government is following the road map for implementation of GST as per the schedule. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was making his Opening Remarks at the Fourth Meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Finance held here today. The subject of today’s Meeting was the Goods and Services Tax (GST)

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley further said that the First Meeting of the GST Council was held in a very cordial and constructive environment earlier this month and today, he will hold the Second Meeting of the GST Council. In the GST regime, the GST Council has been created under Article 279A of the Constitution. The GST Council is a joint forum of the Centre and the States. The Council will take decisions on important issues like tax rates, exemption list and threshold limits etc.

Thereafter, the Members of Consultative Committee who participated in today’s Meeting sought various clarifications with regard to GST Law and gave suggestions for its better implementation. Some of the major suggestions include need for absolute clarity and transparency with regard to where taxes will be collected, assessed and where the appeal will be filed in case of GST regime. The members said that it will be challenging task to tackle complex situation arising-out of implementation of GST law in a federal system. Some of the members suggested there is a need for launching a large scale Awareness Campaign especially for the small traders as most of them are still unaware about the complex procedures and processes under GST regime including for registration and filing of returns etc. Some of the members suggested that availability of IT network in all parts of the country, especially in small towns and rural areas, must be ensured as GST system will work only online. Some of the members appreciated the initiative of the Government in getting the GST law passed by both the Houses of Parliament as well as its commitment to implement it in a time bound manner. The members hoped that this law will bring relief to the common man by exempting certain essential items from GST and moderate rate of taxation on other items which in turn will bring down the prices of common man consumption items as well as cost of living at large.

Along with the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Finance, the Members of the Consultative Committee who participated in the today’s Meeting include Shri Baijayanta Jai Panda, Shri Dilip Kumar Mansukhlal Gandhi, Shri Kailkesh Narayan Singh Deo, Shri Prabhatsinh Chauhan, Shri Ram Charitra Nishad, Shri Subhash Chandra Baheria and Shri Suresh Chanabassappa Angadi (all members of Lok Sabha); Shri Anil Desai, Shri Digvijaya Singh, Shri Rajkumar Doot and Shri Satish Chandra Misra (all members of Rajya Sabha) .

Among the officers who attended the Consultative Committee Meeting include Shri Ashok Lavasa, Finance Secretary, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, DEA, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary, Ms. Anjuly Chib Dugal, Secretary, Financial Services, Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, DIPAM, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), Chairman, CBEC Shri Najib Shah and other senior officers of the Ministry of Finance.

PIB

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The Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley said that the Government has taken various measures to deal with the issue of Non Performing Assets (NPAs) in Banking Sector especially in case of Public Sector Banks (PSBs). The Finance Minister said that there are two categories of defaulters, viz. those who are unable to pay back due to economic slowdown both in domestic and global market and other reasons outside their control as well as wilful defaulters including loans sanctioned without due diligence by the banks. The Finance Minister said that the Government has taken various measures to deal with both these categories of defaulters. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was making his Opening Remarks at the Second Meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Finance on the subject: “NPAs in Banking Sector” here today.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley further said that in order to deal with default due to economic slowdown, the Government has taken various measures to revive the stressed sectors which mainly include steel, textiles, power and roads among others. Shri Jaitley said that the Government has also done recapitalization of banks by providing Rs. 25,000 crore in the last year Union Budget 2015-16 as well as in this year’s budget 2016-17. He said that transparency and professionalism has been brought in appointment process for top management positions in the PSBs including Chairmen and Managing Directors. He said the Government has taken various measures to make the management professional, has given full autonomy to the banks in taking commercial decisions without any interference from the Government..

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley said that Bankruptcy Law has been cleared by the Joint Parliament Standing Committee and is likely to be discussed in the current Budget Session of the Parliament. The Finance Minister also said that SARFAESI Act and DRT Act have been amended to make the recovery process more efficient and expedient. The Finance minister said that wherever it was observed that number of cases in which action taken by the banks against guarantors for recovery of defaulted loans is insufficient, the Government has advised the banks to take action against guarantors in the event of default by borrowers under relevant Sections of SARFAESI Act, Indian Contract Act and RDDB & FI Act. The Finance Minister said that a direction to this effect has been issued to the banks last month. The Finance Minister also highlighted the various measures taken by the Government for revival of stressed sectors such as steel, road, power and textile sectors among others.

Later the Members of the Consultative Committee gave their suggestions with regard to recovery of loans and bringing NPAs under control. Members suggested that there is need for bringing more transparency in the system and list of all the defaulters whose loans have been written off by the PSBs be made public. They asked for exemplary action against the wilful defaulters so that others do not indulge in similar activities. Some members appreciated the Government’s effort to make the appointment process for the top management positions of banks professional. Some members also suggested that there is need for restructuring of agricultural loans in order to help the farmers. Members also suggested that there should be no employment cut due to any amalgamation or merger of banks. Members asked the Government to ensure level playing field to all Indian entrepreneurs across the board. They suggested that due to wilful default by some prominent business men, others may not be considered and treated in a similar fashion. Some members suggested that a committee be constituted to finalise recovery process in case of loans given to big corporate houses by various PSBs.

The Members of the Consultative Committee who participated in the aforesaid Meeting include Shri Anirudhan Sampath, Shri Baijayanta Jai Panda, Shri Dilip Kumar Mansukhlal Gandhi, Shri Kailkesh Narayan Singh Deo, Smt. Poonam Mahajan, Shri PrabhatsinhPratapsinh Chauhan, Shri Ram Charitra Nishad, Shri Sriram Malyadri, Shri Subhash Chandra Baheria, Smt. Supriya Sadanand Sule, Shri Suresh Chanabassappa Angadi (all members of Lok Sabha); Shri Anil Desai, Shri Digvijaya Singh, Dr. K.P. Ramalingam, Shri Rajkumar Dhoot, Shri Ranvijay Singh Judev, Shri Satish Chandra Misra, Kumari Selja and Shri Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (all members of Rajya Sabha).

Along with the Finance Minister, the Minister of State for Finance Shri Jayant Sinha, Shri Ratan P. Watal, Finance Secretary, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, DEA, Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary, Ms. Anjuly Chib Dugal, Secretary, Financial Services, Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, DIPAM, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), and other senior officers of the Ministry of Finance attended the aforesaid Consultative Committee Meeting.

PIB

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