Our country is taking various measures to revive its economic condition, one such measure and vital initiative is Aatmanirbhar launched in May 2020 and the government has been upgrading the programs according to the industrial requirements. Now, the Finance Minister has unveiled ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0’ which brings a fresh stimulus worth Rs. 2, 65,080 crores to aid in reviving the country’s industrial sector.

The third up-gradation of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is mainly focusing to create more job opportunities and to increase the financial support to the stressed industries. Alongside this, it is also considering to ease down the investments in housing and infrastructure sectors. Under this new scheme, the deadline for the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) would be extended and the collateral-free government-guaranteed additional credit would further be given to the MSMEs till the end of March 2021.

Being a revival measure, what does Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 bring for the Stressed Sectors?
The Indian government has introduced a new version of the ECLGS scheme to provide an aiding hand to the stressed sectors across the country. As the revival measure, the loan sanctioned within the limit of Rs. 3 lakh under this scheme could be raised according to their requirement. However, the organization that has loan dues for about 30 days or special mention accounts as of February 29, 2020, would get an extra benefit of about 20 percent outstanding under the scheme.

The COVID hit sectors that are totally under stress include hotels, transport, trade, construction, and more. Thus, to restructure these sectors about 83.4 percent to the construction in these sectors in the April-June quarter. However, the ECLGS scheme would be extended until November end and the disbursals of Rs.1.48 lakh crore besides the sanctions of Rs.2.03 lakh crore to 60.67 lakh borrowers, says the government data. With these measures, the companies are expected to obtain a significant relief that is expected to recover along with raising economic activity.

The Remedy for Job Creations
Post-COVID the country is tremendously witnessing unemployment problems, and since last month it is been recovering. To aid support the reviving job creation for Indians, the government has announced an employment incentive scheme – Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana. This scheme would offer a subsidy for provident fund contribution for the organization to hire new employees, this would be applicable for the registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). However, the central government would offer a subsidy for about two years for the employees who have lost their jobs post the outbreak of the pandemic that is from March 1 to September 30. Also, the new employees got job offers on or after October 1.

Furthermore, through this scheme, the government would be paying the PF contribution for employees who get a salary up to Rs.15, 000. The contribution of 24 percent for both the organization as well as the employees. But, the organization is eligible only if it has employed more than 1,000 employees, and about 12 percent of the employees’ share would be contributed by the government.

Commenting on the benefits given for organizations to hire new employees’ Nirmala Sitharaman says, “99.1 percent of the establishments will be covered under this scheme and 65 percent of all employees in the formal sector are estimated to be covered in the first category, wherein EPF contributions will be given by the government by way of subsidy support.”

Moreover, the subsidy benefits under this scheme would be operational until June 30, 2021, and it is credited only to the Aadhaar-seeded EPFO accounts of new employees.

Real Estate and Construction Sectors Gains
For the real estate sector, the scheme enables the developers to sell their properties at 20 percent lower than the actual amount. Furthermore, the government has also declared a rise in the differential from 10 to 20 percent from its commencement until June 30, 2021.

However, the construction industry would be getting an additional outlay of Rs.18, 000 crore for the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY)- Urban. Alongside the finance minister has stated that it would help about 12 lakh houses that would be grounded and 18 lakh to be completed. Moreover, the government has announced Rs.6,000 crore of equity in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to aid the debt financing of about Rs. 1.1 lakh crore by 2025.