₹20L-cr boost for self-reliant India Maha gets closer to 25K cases; CM calls for lockdown exit plan
BATTLING COVID PM says fiscal stimulus will amount to around 10% of GDP; Union cabinet likely to approve contours of package today, details expected soon
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a ~20 lakh crore economic package to help individuals and businesses deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown enforced to combat its spread, and to, as he put it, turn the “crisis into an opportunity”.
Details of the package, which is the equivalent of a little below 10% of the GDP, will be announced over the next few days, starting Wednesday, by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the package – Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Mission) -- would cover “land, labour, liquidity, and laws”, industry and businesses of all sizes, and farmers, entrepreneurs, and the middle class.
And he repeatedly stressed on the theme of self-reliance and the importance of keeping manufacturing, markets and supply chains local.
“When India speaks of self-reliance, it does not advocate a selfcentered system. In India’s self-reliance there is a concern for the whole world’s happiness, cooperation and peace,” Modi said, adding that local suppliers have met India’s demands in this hour of crisis, and now “Indians have to be ‘vocal about local’ and buy products from them”.
Maharashtra on Tuesday inched closer to the 25,000 mark for Covid-19 cases, even as chief minister Uddhav Thackeray directed district officials to prepare an exit plan from the lockdown in the next three days. The state is in favour of easing restrictions further in less-affected areas, while continuing the lockdown in red zones such as Mumbai, Pune and Nashik.
The state reported 1,026 new cases, taking its total to 24,427. Meanwhile, Mumbai is nearing the 15,000 mark after its total reached 14,947 with the addition of 426 new infections. A total of 53 more deaths were reported on Tuesday, taking the toll to 921. Of the deaths, 28 were in Mumbai, six each in Pune and Panvel, five in Jalgaon, three in Solapur, two in Thane and one each in Raigad, Aurangabad city and Jalgaon city. Twenty-one of the patients who died on Tuesday were above 60 years of age, while 27 were in the age group of 40 to 59 years and the remaining were below the age of 40 years. Thirty-five of them had high-risk comorbidities including diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments.
The state has reported 5,364 cases in the past four days and saw 190 deaths during this period.