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Nirmala-Sitharaman
Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday made several big announcements while announcing measures for Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
Sitharaman said that the government will pay Rs 2,500 crore as employees and employers' contributions to EPF for the next three months till August, and it will benefit around 72.22 lakh employees.
Statutory PF contribution for both employers and employees has been reduced from 12% to 10% for all establishments covered by EPFO for the next 3 months while for CPSEs and State PSUs, employer contribution to remain 12%, said Sitharaman.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s self-reliance call, she said it does not mean that India will look only inwards and become an 'isolationist’ country rather it’s about a confident India which can rest on its strengths and also contribute to the globe.
"Certainly when he (Prime Minister) says 'Aatmanirbhar' Bharat, it is not to look inwards and make India an isolationist country.
This will benefit 45 lakh small businesses and the loan will have 4-year tenure and will have a 12-month moratorium, she added.
She also announced Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt scheme for stressed MSMEs and said that it will make the players in the sector more confident.