Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economy, and discussed a possible second stimulus with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to boost sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Modi held discussions with Nirmala as the pandemic hit sectors from small industries to the aviation sector hard with millions of jobs at stake.
The meeting comes amid drastic reduction in GDP growth forecast by various multi-lateral funding agencies due to the impact of COVID-19 and consequent lockdown. As per the World Bank, India is expected to grow 1.5 per cent to 2.8 per cent.
Similarly, the IMF on Tuesday projected a GDP growth of 1.9 per cent for India in 2020, as the global economy hits the worst recession since the Great Depression in 1930s.
The pandemic and consequent lockdown have hit various sectors, including MSME, hospitality, civil aviation, agriculture and allied sector.
The Government constituted an empowered group — headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty — which is entrusted with the task of suggesting measures that can bring back economy back on track quickly post the lockdown.
To ease the pain and misery, the Finance Minister last month announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus that included free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor for three months, and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens as it looked to ease the economic impact of the nationwide lockdown.