Covid-19 pandemic is showing no signs of dwindling. In fact, it is increasing, getting more and more people within its grasp, some of them perpetually. Over 14000 cases of infections have been confirmed already in Jammu and Kashmir while the toll of those succumbing to it has increased and has already gone past 250. While there is panic due to the virus, the livelihood is getting impacted severely. The way the microbe is behaving in the absence of any vaccine or drug to defeat it, a long drawn battle seems inevitable. Amid this uncertainty, various measures by the government as a welfare state become more inevitable to be taken side by side to address concerns regarding the daily affairs of the individuals. Except for a very few, all segments of the society suffered due to the fallouts of the raving pathogen. After a protracted lockdown which turned to modest in fighting and controlling the virus spread, unlock of the economy was thought to bring a glimmer of hope to people as well as the gloomy economy. The issue of livelihood remains a great concern and rightly attracted the attention of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir within the constraints of its resources. In this backdrop, the Administrative Council recently came out with a slew of measures aimed at addressing concerns among various stakeholders. That is really one good step among possibly a few more to follow, taken by the Government, so as to revive the economy.
The step comes amid the announcement of Rs.20 crore by the centre under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ which focussed sharply on MSMEs, priority sectors and vulnerable segments. It is a strong supply-side push by boosting the availability of capital on easy terms, keep income and wage support schemes to the minimum, empower constituencies ranging from farmers and workers to businesses. The fiscal impact of the Rs 20-lakh crore package is estimated by economists at between 2-3% of GDP and that includes drawals from provisions already made in the Budget for this fiscal. As per the J&K government’s announcement, known as “2nd relief package”, issues of backlog of sales tax and VAT arrears have been addressed somewhat by extending the Amnesty Scheme up to October 31, 2020 and filing of reimbursement claims pertaining to the period January -March 2020 to October 15 and for the next quarter ending June to November 15, 2020. Also, stamp duty on fresh lending by GoI and J&K Government’s package is proposed to be waived off to reduce the cost of lending. These measures are precise but a package for other secretors is overdue.
