Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that the government has not closed the option of a third stimulus package in the current financial year ending March 31, 2021, a week after announcing demand measures to boost the consumer spending and capital spending in the economy.
“I have not closed the option of another stimulus package if it turns out to be, because every time we announce one, it has been after much consideration of the contributions that have come from various different sectors of society. Then we sit down and sort it out within the ministry and prime minister’s office and then we take one last call. So I have not closed the option of proposing one more stimulus, “said Sitharaman participating in a panel discussion at the virtual launch of the autobiography of the chairman of the 15th Finance Committee, NK Singh, entitled” Portraits of Power: Half a Century of existence in the first row “.
On October 12, the Finance Minister announced a stimulus package worth ₹Rs 46,675 crore, including incentives for central government employees to spend more on consumer durables and higher capital spending for both the center and the states. Credit rating agency Moody’s said last week that the 0.2% of GDP measures will only provide limited support for growth and highlight the government’s “very weak fiscal position.”
Last week in an interview with mintsaid TV spending secretary Somanathan, although nothing is planned yet, another stimulus cannot be ruled out. “For now, I don’t think there is anything else planned. But in real life nothing can be ruled out. The Finance Minister has always said that we will continue to monitor the situation and react periodically when the situation warrants. So I can’t give you a commitment in any way, “he added.
When asked if the Ministry of Finance will present its own projection for the contraction of GDP for the current financial year, Sitharaman said that the ministry has just started making an assessment on it after waiting for the first half of the financial year to end. . “We have many inputs that are very different from what we had in July. Maybe we have to make a statement, if we do it in public or if I do it in Parliament is one thing, but obviously the Ministry of Finance will have to make an evaluation of how it will be, “he said.
The Reserve Bank of India has projected that the economy will contract 9.5% in fiscal year 21, while the International Monetary Fund has estimated that GDP will contract 10.3% during the current financial year. .
In response to another question, the finance minister said that the cabinet will soon accept the proposal to identify the limited strategic sectors in which public sector companies should operate, allowing other sectors to open up to the private sector, as previously announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package. “It should be clearly mentioned how the Indian economy should be; this departure from the socialist baggage that we have been carrying all along, some desirable and others burdensome. That will make a big change of direction and I want that to happen, “he added.
Sitharaman said he wants federalism to strengthen in India. “Continuous solidity in real time is what will make this country stronger. Even the prime minister periodically mentions that every state has to develop. Even if a state is left behind, it will become luggage. Otherwise, the speed with which it wants to grow will be slowed by the attraction factor of those who are left behind, “he added.
Among other important reforms, the finance minister said that she wishes that India’s education system can meet all the needs of its youth and that India become an educational center for foreign students to come to study.
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