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Budget Scheme Announced for Development and Welfare

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A slew of social initiatives geared towards women, children, and people from weaker sections were introduced during the Union Budget 2022 announcement. The budget also highlighted challenges faced by small businesses and the imbalance in regional resources. Here are some of the proposed initiatives you should know about. 

PLI scheme
The government’s Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme covers 13 sectors, including telecom, auto and pharmaceuticals. It offers incentives directly linked to the manufacturing process, puts focus on the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and aligns it with its vision of Atmanirbhar. The Finance Minister (FM), in her speech, said that the flagship scheme would create 60 lakh new jobs and facilitate additional production of 30 lakh crore jobs over the next five years. 
    
The government announced an additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for the solar sector under the existing PLI scheme. This has been done to boost domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar power modules. The FM added a scheme for the telecom sector’s design-led manufacturing would be launched to build a robust ecosystem before the rollout of 5G mobile services in the country.

Extended credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs
The Union Government has expanded the scope and coverage of the Emergency Credit-Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) that allows Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19. The scope of ECLGS, which has already provided assistance to over 1.3 crore MSMEs, will be extended from Rs 4.5 lakh crore to 5 lakh crore, with the additional allocation exclusively earmarked to support hospitality and its related sectors. 

Additionally, the government will also make a supplementary infusion of Rs 2 lakh crore under the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro Small Enterprises scheme (CGTMSE). Under ECLGS, eligible businesses will be able to borrow funds from institutional lenders with a sovereign guarantee and a one-year moratorium on repayments for loans secured till March 2023.

E-Vidya programme 2.0
The E-Vidya scheme, launched In May 2020 under the ‘One Nation One Digital Platform’ initiative, aimed to protect the education of children from weaker sections who were impacted by COVID-19. The revamped version will be built on a hub and spoke model in collaboration with the best public universities. Students from classes 1 to 12 will be able to access high-quality content in all spoken regional languages. The number of TV channels will be increased from 12 to 200 to facilitate the same. 

Remote learning content will also be available across platforms such as television, internet, radio, podcasts, and more, with specialised radio podcasts and e-content geared towards hearing and visually impaired students. A mental healthcare system named ‘Manodarpan’ is also being launched to address the emotional well-being of students, teachers, and their families.

Poshan 2.0, Saksham Anganwadi, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya
Taking forward its Nari Shakti or women empowerment mission, the FM announced the revamp of four schemes to provide integrated development for women and children. These include Poshan 2.0, Saksham Anganwadi, Mission Shakti, and Mission Vatsalya. 

Under the Saksham Anganwadi scheme, 2 lakh anganwadis (rural childcare centres) will be upgraded. They will have improved infrastructure, audio-visual aids and will run on clean energy. The aim is to offer a better environment for early childhood development. To ensure women and children were provided with integrated benefits, Mission Shakti, Mission Vatsalya, Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 were recently launched. 

The Poshan 2.0 and Saksham Anganwadi schemes have been allotted a budget of Rs 20,263 crore, while Mission Shakti has been allotted a budget of Rs 3,184 crore, to provide empowerment and protection for women. Mission Vatsalya - aimed at child protection and welfare services - has been allotted a budget of Rs 1,472 crore.

PM development initiative for the North East 
To promote the growth and development of India’s North Eastern region, the FM proposed to launch a new scheme, ‘PM Development Initiative for North East’. She shared that the government has put together Rs 1,500 crore to enable livelihood activities for youth and women in eight North-Eastern states. This will fund infrastructure aligning with the PM’s Gati Shakti, as well as social development activities. 

The projects include two significant initiatives in Mizoram, the construction of a bypass in Aizawl (Rs 500 crore) and a bamboo link road in various districts across the state (Rs 100 crore). There are also plans to build passenger ropeway systems in Sikkim (Rs 64 crore). The funds will also help build two multi-state projects, namely services for the Management of Paediatric and Adult Haematolymphoid Cancers in North-East India, Guwahati (Rs 129 crore), NECTAR Livelihood Improvement project (Rs 67 crore) and Promotion Scientific Organic Agriculture in North-East India (Rs 45 crore), among other initiatives.

Read more on which sectors are getting the most investment in budget 2022


*The information provided in this article is generic in nature and for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for specific advice in your own circumstances. 

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