Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced Rs 3 lakh crore of collateral-free loans for small businesses, cut the tax rate for non-salary payments and provided liquidity to non-banking companies to help them tide over the disruptions caused by the lockdown.
Announcing the first set of components of the Rs 20 lakh crore COVID-19 economic stimulus package announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion will be made in electricity distribution companies to help them fight the current financial stress.
A subordinate debt of Rs 20,000 crore for stressed units, a Fund of Funds for equity infusion of Rs 50,000 crore, and revision in the definition of MSMEs are among the steps announced by the government to help MSMEs recover from disruptions caused by the coronavirus-related lockdown.