Lucknow, October 13: After the Central Government decided to give an interest-free advance of Rs 10,000 to all its officers and employees on the occasion of festivals, the Yogi government is also preparing to take steps in this direction.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to senior officials of the government in this regard.
Yogi said in a high level meeting at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday that in view of the upcoming festivals, the Government of India has decided to provide advance funds to its employees.
He has directed the Finance Department to prepare a similar scheme on the lines of the Centre. In this way, the employees of the state government are also likely to get gifts on the occasion of festivals.
The central government has taken this important decision to boost investment and demand during the festive season to support the economy affected by the coronavirus crisis. Yogi government is also preparing to follow this path.
At the same time, according to the decision of the Centre, this advance of Rs 10,000 will be in the form of a pre-paid RuPay card. The Special Festival Advance Scheme ( SFAS) is available for the next six months. It will have to be spent by March 31 , 2021.
However, employees will have to pay this advance in 10 installments. The government will spend Rs 4,000 crore on SFAS. At the same time, if the states also express desire to join, additional consumer demand of Rs 8,000 crore will be created.
It is believed that in view of this, the very next day after the announcement of the Centre, Chief Minister Yogi has instructed the Finance Department to prepare a plan in this regard.
