HOME > MARKETS > ECONOMY NEWS
  ECONOMY NEWS
ECONOMY
Govt open to coming out with more measures to boost Covid hit economy: Subramanian
Jun-21-2021

With an aim to boost the economy which has been hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) K V Subramanian has said that the government is open to coming out with more measures. However, he added that the demand for a fresh stimulus package has to be considered against the backdrop of a host of initiatives taken by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget for 2021-22 presented in February.

He said ‘Like last year, we do remain very open to coming up with more measures as well...but I think it is really important to take into account the big differences between last year and this year when we talk about stimulus.’ Elaborating further, the CEA said that unlike the previous budget which was framed before the pandemic, the 2021 budget was presented amid the pandemic and had already incorporated significant fiscal expansion. The focus is particularly on infrastructure spending which leads to construction activity and subsequently creation of jobs in the informal sector and demand generation. It was witnessed during the January-March quarter of the last financial year.

The significant capital spending by the government led to a 15 per cent increase in the construction sector in the fourth quarter and the gross fixed capital formation to GDP surged to 34 per cent, the highest in the last six years. Emphasising that the final objective is to ensure that the economic recovery gathers pace, he said the government will do whatever is necessary to ensure that. With regard to food security for the poor, he said, the government has already extended the free food programme for 80 crore population till November. He said the extension of PM Garib Kalayan Yojana would cost about Rs 70,000 crore, and added that free vaccination for all is another important economic measure. On the effect of the second wave on growth, Subramanian said there will be some impact but it is not likely to be very large.

  RELATED NEWS >>