NCEUS asks Rs 58,000 cr package for unorganised sector

Hit by worldwide economic crisis, unorganised sector that employs about 400 million people, has sought a Rs 58,000 crore stimulus package to save jobs and fight the downturn.

"We have recommended 10 urgent steps under the Rs 58,000 crore package, including a Rs 5,000 crore special programme for marginal and small farmers," National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) Member Secretary V K Malhotra told reporters today here.

The Commission recently submitted its recommendations to protect India's unorganised sector from the impact of global financial crisis to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The amount demanded should be spent in the next 15 months, including three months in this fiscal or else the impact of the slowdown would be more severe, Malhotra said.

However, he added that the Commission has no figures on the number of people being affected by the downturn.

"In the wake of the global economic crisis, the NCEUS has asked the government to protect the employment and incomes of unorganised sector workers," he said.

The Commission, chaired by Arjun Sengupta has suggested a special package of Rs 5,000 crore for small and marginal farmers, who constitute over 85 per cent of the country's farming population.

"A Marginal and Small Farmers Development Society (MSFDS) should be set up by the government which would create self help groups of these farmers with the objectives of enabling better access to credit, by linking SHGs to banks," NCEUS Member Ravi S Srivastava said.

MSFDS would also enable better access to technology, by establishing community resource centres and would play a vital role in conducting gender-focused activities considering over 40 per cent of Indian farmers are women.