Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his first video conference call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, detailed the coronavirus situation in the state and the precautions taken so far. The Chief Minister also presented a number of needs of the state to the PM.
The first among these is the need to increase the number of man days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 to 150 days and the wages by at least Rs 50.
The state has also asked that it may front-load next year’s market borrowing in April 2020 – so that it may borrow whatever it is allowed to in the next fiscal year in April. “Government of India may disburse during April, May 2020 at least 40 per cent of the revenue deficit grants recommended by the 15thFinance Commission,” the CM asked.
Pinarayi has also asked to raise the borrowing limit of the state to 4% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2020-21.
Adequate income support scheme for the aged, poor and unorganised sector has been requested. The state has also requested for adequate supply of foodgrains at subsidised rates. “Free movement of essential commodities like food, medicines, etc. across state borders should be ensured,” Pinarayi told the PM.
Incidentally, on Friday evening, the Tamil Nadu government announced it is closing the inter-state borders with Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for vehicular movement until March 31. However, essential commodities like medicine, milk and vegetables would be allowed to move between the states.
The Kerala CM also asked the PM to direct banks to double their micro credit allocation at reduced interest rates.
Kerala has requested a special package for hospitality and export industries with interest waiver on their loans during the moratorium period.
In addition to the earlier request to allow use of State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to deal with COVID-19, the state has now also asked to extend the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) benefits to people in home isolation.
Finally, the Kerala Chief Minister has also asked the PM to approve testing laboratories recommended by the state government, in the public and private sector.