Nascent revival hit by 2nd wave: FM

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the resurgence of the pandemic has adversely impacted the nascent recovery process in India, but maintained that the country will sail through the storm with the focus of the government on robust public health measures, timely treatment of infected persons, sound macro-economic management, and strong macro fundamentals.

The country is in the grip of the second wave and this has caused suffering for a large number of people and put a huge strain on the healthcare system, she said at the virtual 54th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.

“We are thankful to the international community for their support in this hour of need. The vaccine production capacity in India is being ramped up and more candidates are on the verge of entering the commercial chain. We are confident that with expected access to critical raw material, we would not only be able to meet our needs, but also soon be back to meet vaccine needs of the world.”asit

hit sectors, such as retail and tourism. Halts to domestic air traffic and subdued international travel may dismantle a fragile recovery underway for airports. A drawn-out covid wave would hit small and midsize enterprises particularly hard and delay recovery in banks’ asset quality,” it added.

Fitch Ratings separately said on Wednesday downside pressures on India’s creditworthiness remain prominent, highlighted by the negative outlook on the sovereign’s ‘BBB-’ rating, which Fitch Ratings affirmed on April 22.