Prime Minister was informed about progress in implementation of  anti-crisis measures 

ArmInfo.Within the framework of the extraordinary government meeting,  Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan was informed about the progress  in implementing the packages of anti-crisis measures of economic and  social significance previously adopted by the Cabinet.

In particular, within the framework of the first assistance package,  which concerns SMEs, Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of  Armenia, Artur Javdyan, noted that 205 loans on concessional terms  for the amount of about 8.8 billion drams were approved. At the same  time, the total number of loan applications is 691 for a total of 39  billion drams. The head of the Central Bank noted that this program  has a wide coverage both in geography and in terms of industry.

Regarding the 2nd package in the agricultural sector, according to  Javadyan, 536 farmers' applications were satisfied, of which 417 were  microloans, the amount of which amounted to about 1.6 billion drams.

Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Khachatryan  reported that, according to the 3rd package of measures to support  SMEs, as of the end of the previous week, 457 applications had been  received, of which 257 were not satisfied due to non-compliance with  the indicated criteria, in particular, in terms of industries.  According to him, at the moment, the applications of 70 economic  entities that are already under consideration in financial  institutions have been satisfied. Based on the general statistics of  applications received, by the end of this week, as Khachatryan noted,  a total of 1 billion drams of credit will be provided to small  businesses.

David Ananyan, head of the State Revenue Committee, reported for the  5th package of anti-crisis measures to maintain staff and partial  compensation of salaries. He said that as of 11:30 a.m., 5207  beneficiaries had already been awarded grants worth 788.9 million  drams. In total, over 9 thousand business entities received  confirmation from the SRC about their joining this program, on the  basis of which only 5 388 business entities have submitted  applications.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia  Zaruhi Batoyan presented the social packages of anti-crisis measures.  She recalled that there is no need to submit applications for  packages 4, 6 and 7, funds will be transferred automatically. In this  regard, Batoyan reported that a total of 929 million drams had  already been transferred to 11,444 beneficiaries. However, according  to her, the list of beneficiaries is replenished. Only part 6 of the  package of anti-crisis measures includes all beneficiaries, and the  funds are already available in 4 commercial banks of the Republic of  Armenia, information on which is available on online.ssa.am.  At the  same time, the minister recalled that the list of beneficiaries of  the 7th package of anti-crisis measures was developed, which was  originally developed for pregnant women who, due to the crisis of  coronavirus, lost their jobs or husbands lost their jobs. Henceforth,  the 7th package of anti-crisis measures includes pregnant women and  their spouses, who were not employed before the crisis. Thus,  according to Batoyan, the number of beneficiaries from the expected  3.8 thousand will increase to 8 thousand. "The lists will be updated  tomorrow>," she stressed.

In addition, according to her, beneficiaries can apply for lump sum  benefits for 8 and 9 events from today.  <The funds intended for the  8th group of citizens will be available at the latest tomorrow  already from 9:30 am>, the head of the social agency said, noting  that part 9 of the package of measures, due to the large beneficiary  base, will be decided from 3 to 5 days. In this context, Batoyan  recalled that on all issues of interest, citizens can contact the  following numbers of the hot line of the Ministry of Labor and Social  Affairs: 114 and 011 300 114.

Noting that hundreds of thousands of citizens are beneficiaries in  terms of the package, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of  promptly notifying people about existing support mechanisms through  various information channels.  To frecall, today at an extraordinary  meeting of the government, the Cabinet approved the 11-package of  anti-crisis measures, which provides for assistance to citizens in  terms of utility bills.