The cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill that seeks to reduce the compliance burden of the registered chit funds industry and protect the interest of subscribers.

The cabinet gave approval for the introduction of Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in Parliament, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said after the cabinet meeting.

He said the bill was aimed at fulfilling the objectives of reducing the regulatory or compliance burden of the registered chit funds industry as well as protecting the interest of subscribers.

The government had earlier in 2018 introduced a bill to regulate the chit fund industry but it lapsed, the minister said.

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2018 and later referred to a standing committee on finance for scrutiny. The parliamentary panel had suggested the government to incorporate element of insurance coverage for subscribers, among others.

It also noted that mobilising short-term funds to meet various personal needs has been a chronic problem faced by the general public in developing countries such as India.

Fertiliser subsidy

The government also hiked the subsidy on non-urea fertilisers to make available farm nutrients at affordable prices to farmers, a move that would cost the exchequer Rs 22,875.50 crore in this fiscal.

A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs .

“The CCEA approves NBS rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the year 2019-20; expected expenditure during 2019-20 to be Rs 22,875.50 crore,” Javadekar told the media .

The subsidy for nitrogen has been fixed at Rs 18.90 per kg, phosphorous at Rs 15.11 per kg, potash at Rs 11.12 per kg and sulphur at Rs 3.56 per kg for the current fiscal.