Central Govt. doles out Festival Advance, Cash in lieu of LTC to boost economy

 In a desperate move to boost economy and gain the confidence of it's employees centre brings out innovative plans.

Rs 10,000 Interest free advance to all central employees.

Cash in lieu of LTC of which has to be spent in non food GST bearing items within 31st March 2021. Details of this scheme, i.e., amount of cash component is awaited.

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Most important thing to consider that still now Govt. has not issued Bonus Order for it's employees. Will these doles are substituting the bonus ? Govt. employees have reasons to suspect as they had to sacrifice their D.A. for 18 months while their counterparts in Bank and PSU are enjoying the same.

Following is the news related to Advance and Cash in lieu of LTC.

"The government on Monday announced a one-time Rs 10,000 interest-free festival advance to all its officers and employees as part of plans to increase consumer spending to spur demand in the economy.

But as a one-time measure, an interest-free advance will be given to all officers and employees of the central government, she said.

This Rs 10,000 advance will come as a pre-paid Rupay card, which can be availed and spent by March 31, 2021.

The repayment will be in 10 installments, she said, adding that Rs 4,000 crore is likely to be spent on this.

In a bid to stimulate demand in the economy, the government on Monday announced giving out cash vouchers to central government employees this year in lieu of leave travel concession (LTC) fare which could be spent only on buying non-food GST-rated items.

Finance Minister Sitharaman said the employees could buy items that attract 12 per cent or more goods and services tax (GST). These purchases will have to be made in digital mode from GST-registered outlets.

Every four years, central government employees get LTC to any destination to their choice plus one to their hometown.

Since travel is difficult to undertake during the pandemic, the government will pay the entitled fare as cash vouchers which have to be spent by March 31, 2021, she said.

Central government payout on cash-in-lieu-for-LTC will be Rs 5,675 crore, and another Rs 1,900 crore will be payout by central PSUs and public sector banks, Sitharaman said.

The demand infusion because of this would be Rs 19,000 crore, and another Rs 9,000 crore if half of the states follow this guideline, she added."

Source Rediff News