Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address a press conference at 4pm to share details of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic relief package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to soften the devastating impact of coronavirus and the lockdown on the economy.
Today’s will be the first of a series of press briefings by the finance minister in the coming days. The Rs 20 lakh crore sum. which is equal of 10 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), includes Reserve Bank of India’s liquidation worth close to Rs 8.04 lakh crore along with Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package under Gareeb Kalyan Yojana spelled out by Sitharaman last month. The balance of the economic package, details of which are not yet known, then stands at Rs 10.26 lakh crore.
In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening, PM Modi had announced Rs 20 lakh crore – equivalent to 10 per cent of India’s GDP – in fiscal and monetary measures to support an economy badly hit by the 50-day lockdown to fight the spread of Covid-19.
The PM said the package will focus on land, labour, liquidity and laws and has been designed to keep in mind various segments of the society like the cottage industry, small-scale industry, MSMEs, labourers, farmers, middle-class taxpayers and Indian industries.
He also gave a push to local products, as he said India mission should be becoming self-reliant (Atma Nirbha Bharat). Spelling out the details, Modi had said the self-reliant strategy will depend on five pillars: growing a new economy, creating a state-of-the-art infrastructure, setting up a technology-based delivery system, leveraging the young demography and by exploiting domestic demand. PM Modi had said the details of the package would be shared by Sitharaman.
In a series of tweets after Modi’s address, the finance minister on Tuesday said “this shall not be just a financial package, but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance.