New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a slew of schemes on Saturday evening to herald a prosperous 2017 for the urban and rural poor, farmers, small businessmen, senior citizens, and pregnant women.
Modi started on a sombre note. For the first 23 minutes, he mainly thanked his countrymen for braving the cash crunch, iterated why demonetisation was a necessary weapon in his fight against black money and corruption, and warned of more action against the dishonest."The law will take its course with full force. The government will help the honest, protect them, and see that their difficulties are eased," he said. In his address made to the nation on the very day the demonetisation exercise ended, the Prime Minister did not say much about curbs on withdrawals. He only said everyone in the government has been told that banking operations must return to normal as soon as possible.
Then he switched to announcement mode, rattling out enough measures to make his speech sound like a mini-Budget.
The first in his list for 2017 were two housing schemes under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY). For the urban poor, home loans up to `9 lakh will get 4% interest exemption, and loans up to `12 lakh will get 3%. In villages, home loans up to `2 lakh will get 3% interest exemption. This would apply not only to loans for building new houses but also those taken for renovating or expanding an existing one.
In all, Modi said 33% more homes will be built in rural areas under the PMAY. There was more for the rural poor, who got the lion's share of the announcements. The govt will pay interest for 60 days on loans taken by farmers for Rabi farming from district cooperative banks and societies.
