TLI Staff
New Delhi: Apprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi of emergency relief packages announced by 17 countries and two international banks to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their economies, senior BJP leader and economist Subramanian Swamy has said that a financial aid to help the trade and industry is very crucial at this stage.
Swamy has cited the emergency relief packages announced by countries like US, UK, Germany, China and Malaysia to suggest that such support is badly needed in this time of crisis.
Known for his fresh ideas and out-of-box thinking, Swamy’s input could be crucial and timely for the government as it is currently in the process of assessing the impact of the deadly virus on the economy and work out a comprehensive relief package.
“The package of economic relief measures is very crucial at this stage and that is why I have enclosed what the other countries have done for your information and appraisal,” Swamy said in his letter to the PM.
In a televised address to the nation on Covid-19, the Prime Minister had on Thursday announced to constitute a special Task Force under the leadership of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to finalise an economic package for the affected sectors. Sitharaman held the first meeting of the Task Force today and discussed the challenges faced by some of the worst-affected sectors like aviation, tourism and MSMEs.
Underlining the serious concerns around Covid-19, many world leaders have said that it is as serious as World War.
Towns and cities in Europe and US have been put under lockdown to contain its spread. Its devastating impact on the economy has pushed trade and businesses to the wall.
In its Global Economic Outlook, top research and rating firm Fitch has nearly halved its baseline global growth forecast for 2020 to just 1.3 per cent from 2.5 per cent in the December 2019 estimate.
“The level of world GDP (gross domestic product) is falling. For all intents and purposes we are in global recession territory,” Fitch Chief Economist Brian Coulton has said.
Indian economy has already been in slow lane and spread of Coronavirus could make things worse. Exporters have already seen orders being put on hold as dozens of importing countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain are grappling with the deadly virus.
As per the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) report, more than 209,000 people have been infected by the virus globally and over 8,700 people have so far died creating worst health crisis in many decades.
The crisis has caused massive business disruption globally and threatens to further damage the economy.
Responding to the difficulties faced by trade and industry, many countries have announced financial support for them.
The US has announced a $1 trillion stimulus package nicknamed “Phase Three.” The package includes $1,000 payment to all adult Americans and over $500 billion for small businesses and other expenditures.
French Finance Minister Burno Le Maire has announced a $49 billion aid that includes substantial social security tax cuts and unemployment benefits for people forced to work part time. Germany and UK have also cleared emergency funds to help the economy survive the crisis.
PM Modi calls for self-imposed Janta Curfew on Sunday, people advised not to step out