We have made adequate provisions to ensure that returning migrant workers needing work will be engaged, States and UTs have been asked to provide them work as per provisions of MNREGA Act : Nirmala Sitharaman

Excerpts of the Press Briefing by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman:

  • If we do not speak about a certain component today, it does not mean that Govt. has forgotten about any particular segment, more initiatives are being announced.
  • Today’s initiatives include a total of 9 measures:
    3 related to Migrant workers
    1 related to Street vendors
    Small traders
    Self-employed people
    2 on Small farmers
    1 on housing
  • We have made adequate provisions to ensure that returning migrant workers needing work will be engaged, states and UTs have been asked to provide them work as per provisions of MNREGA Act.
  • Reforms in the pipeline are Setting right the disparity in Minimum wages Act among State, Ensuring all the labourers are getting Minimum Wages and All occupations should be open for women, with provision for night working rights and adequate safeguards.
  • We are working to: Make Right to Minimum Wages universal (now, applicable only to 30% of workers) , Remove regional disparity in minimum wages, through a National Floor Wage Concept which can be accepted by all states.
  • Want to reduce 44 Labour Acts to 4 codes.
  • ‘One Nation, One Ration card’ – PDS ration cards to be portable across India, can be used in any part of the country 67 crore beneficiaries – 83% of all PDS population – to be covered by this 100% coverage by Mar 2021.
  • Free food grain to be supplied to around 8 crore migrants for 2 months. Those who do not hold central / state ration cards will be given 5 kg of rice/wheat and 1 kg of chana for next two months ₹ 3,500 crore cost to be borne by Central Govt.
  • Affordable Rental Housing for migrants and urban poor, to be launched under PMAwasYojana With this, urban poor and migrants can look forward to having some basic accommodation for themselves.
  • Rs 5000cr Special Credit Facility for Street Vendors. Initial Working Capital of Rs 10,000. 50Lak vendors will benefit Will launch within 1 month.
  • To create job opportunities for Tribals /Adivasis -Plans worth Rs 6000 crores to be approved shortly under Compensatory Afforestation Management & Planning Authority (CAMPA) Funds.
  • To benefit around 3 crore farmers, mostly small and marginal farmers, Govt announces Rs 30,000 crores Additional Emergency Working Capital Funding through NABARD.

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