New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced reintroduction of festival advance of Rs 10,000 for central government employees. This money will be deposited in their prepaid Rupay Card. This will be an interest-free loan and need to be repaid in 10 installments.
The charges about issuance of card will be borne by the government. The money so received by employees cannot be withdrawn in cash and should be spent only using digital means. This festival advance is available to all employees of central government including the ones who are non-gazetted.
State governments have the option of offering festival advance on the lines of festival advance offered by central governments.
Today’s announcement offers festival advance only for the current financial year and the money so received needs to be spent before March 31, 2021.