New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a fresh set of measures, involving an estimated outgo of Rs 1.2 lakh crore, to boost demand, help create jobs, augment infrastructure and ensure growth is back on track.
In addition, there is Rs 1.5 lakh crore production-linked incentives (PLI) for 10 sectors that was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. The PLI scheme is spread over five years, while several of the announcements made on Thursday, such as enhanced allocation for fertilizer subsidy and PM Aawas Yojana in urban areas, will see spending during the current financial year itself, reports The Times of India.
India’s economy has borne the brunt of the Covid-19 induced lockdown and contracted a record 23.9% in the June quarter.
Including the steps announced by RBI he Reserve Bank of India since the lockdown in March-end, Sitharaman said, the government and central bank have together provided a stimulus of around Rs 29.9 lakh crore — which is almost 50% higher than the budgeted revenue receipts for the year. The size of the stimulus now adds up to 15% of the GDP, the minister estimated.
“Today’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package continues our efforts to help all sections of society. These initiatives will help in creating jobs, alleviate stressed sectors, ensure liquidity, boost manufacturing, energize real-estate sector & support farmers,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on micro-blogging site Twitter.
