Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government has taken several measures to support the economy but no amount of intervention will be adequate to deal with the crisis triggered by the coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic. She also said that while in early 2020 green shoots and revival signs of the economy were visible, it was upset with the pandemic setting in.
Sitharaman has stated that the government has taken steps for interventions by consulting several chambers of commerce, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took feedback from the industry. For instance, she said the Garib Kalyan Yojana, free cooking gas and direct benefit transfer schemes were announced by the government. She also said three different sets of announcements were made regarding 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', and together with RBI, certain tailormade schemes were unveiled for various sectors on a demand-driven basis. She said ‘we did not restrict the opportunities to any particular sector. This was needed to keep the industry floating.’
Talking on the next Budget, she said that public expenditure, including on capital and infrastructure, will be kept up. She also said several sovereign and pension funds are willing to come to India with long-term commitments, which is leading to the higher inward flow of FDI than comparable economies. Exuding hope, she said ‘we are seeing clear signs of revival. But that has to sustain. We need inputs from the industry at this extraordinary time during Budget-making.’