Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced relief measures for the tourism sector hit-hard by Covid-19. She has also extended a federal guarantee on bank loans to health and tourism services while waiving visa fees for 500,000 foreign tourists, the finance minister said.

The government will expand federal guarantees on loans to businesses to 4.5 trillion rupees ($60.7 billion) from an earlier limit of 3 trillion rupees, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told before media. The government will provide a guarantee of 1.1 trillion rupees on loans to the health sector and medical infrastructure, she said, that will enable them to raise loans at a lower interest rate of 8-8.25% a year.

The scheme will cover 10,700 regional level tourist guides recognised by the Ministry of Tourism and Tourist Guides recognized by the State Governments and Travel and Tourism Stakeholders (TTS) recognized by the Ministry of Tourism.

The government will extend benefits from the free foodgrain programme for poor people, launched last year, till November that will cost 938.7 billion rupees, bringing the total cost of the programme to more than 2.27 trillion rupees, she said.

A slow vaccination drive and local restrictions after a massive second wave of infections and deaths across the country have hit economic activities such as retail, transport and construction while putting millions out of work.

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