Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a third set of measures under the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat package, aimed atrescuing the economy out of ahistoric contractioncaused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest steps - including incentives on job creation and measuresfor the ailing economy's key real estate and infrastructure sectors - are estimated to cost the government Rs2,65,080 crore.
That takes the total monetary and fiscal support provided to the economy in its battle against COVID-19 to Rs29,87,641 crore, a sum that the Finance Minister said is equivalent to roughly 15 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).The total stimulus so far includes Reserve Bank of India measures worth Rs 12,71,200 crore.The Atmanirbhar Bharat packages 1.0 and 2.0 were estimated at Rs 1,102,650 crore and Rs 73,000 crore respectively.The Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 stimulus measures included additional funding for realty developers and contractors, subsidies on fertilisers, incentives on employment generation and additional spending on rural jobs."A number of indicatorsare showing that recovery is clearly happening in the economy...
The strong recovery is based on the unrelenting reforms that the government has brought in a systematic manner," the Finance Minister said in a media briefing.Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 DetailsSummary Of Stimulus Measures Announced So FarItemAmount (In Crore Rupees)Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package1,92,800Atmanirbharat Bharat Abhiyaan 1.011,02,650PMGKP Anna Yojana - extension of five months from July to November82,911Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan 2.0 (October 12)73,000Sub Total17,19,441Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.02,65,080RBI measures12,71,200Total29,87,641(Source: Ministry of Finance)The latest package comes at a time when many economists have called for more stimulus measures to revive the economy, which is headed for its worst annual contraction in more than four decades, saying more needs to be done to create jobs and push demand.