India – Govt may come out with Third stimulus package soon

The government may come out with a third stimulus package to boost the economy, textile minister Shankersinh Vaghela said on Tuesday.

The package will include special concessions for the textile industry, he said. Mr Vaghela said he has sent the recommendations of his ministry to the prime minister’s office (PMO) and the PMO is expected to take a final call on the package in the next few days.

The third stimulus is in line. It may include certain concessions for cotton exporters (apart from other measures),” he said on the sidelines of a function to launch the Fashion Design Promotion Council.

The government would also soon announce a debt waiver package for handloom waivers. The Cabinet is examining the Rs 2,200-crore debt waiver for weavers across the country. The Cabinet is likely to pass the proposal in its next few meetings as the proposal has found favour with the PMO also, the minister said.

There are about 35 lakh handloom weavers in the country and about 20 lakh are likely to benefit from the scheme. It is also likely the government would extend loans at concessional rates to handloom weavers. “As part of the scheme, we have recommended interest subvention so that loans to the weavers are made available at 7%, which is the rate applicable to the agriculture sector,” he said.

Ref: YNFX