Himachal government given Rs1,788 cr for development: Anurag Thakur

Our Correspondent

Hamipur, June 22

Anurag Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, said during a virtual conference here today that the state government hd been given over Rs 1,788 crore for development activities and to meet exigencies.

He said that the state would get support from the Central Government as an when required, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that there would be no dearth of funds for combating Covid-19 and development works in the country.

Anurag said the Prime Minister had announced a package of Rs 20 lakh crore for the upkeep of the small and medium industry in the country. He added that the government had sanctioned funds for every sector, including Rs 18,000 crore for the Kisan Development Programme, Rs 4,313 crore for workers of the unorganised sector, Rs 1,000 crore for PPF beneficiaries, Rs 500 crore for apiculture development and Rs 15,000 crore for dairy development.

He said the government had initiated the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana, and over 113 lakh tonnes of ration had been given to the poor at the cost of Rs 31 crore. The RBI had reduced interest rate on loans, he added.

The Union minister said the construction of the Bhanupli–Bilaspur railway line was in progress and the state government would soon process the proposal for the construction of the Una Hamirpur railway line.

He added that the hike in petrol and diesel prices was inevitable, as the government needed funds to meet the development expenditure.