Page 11 - Plastics News November 2020

Keep the Faith

Two days before Diwali, the Narendra Modi government announced a slew of
stimulus measures to generate employment and provide liquidity support to
stressed sectors such as tourism, aviation and construction, and boost the housing
market.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed 12 measures under the new
Atmanirbhar 3.0 stimulus package. The total outlay of the new package is over Rs
2.65 lakh crore. It is learnt is that the fresh stimulus package, which has been
announced was in the works for more than three months to ensure it remains
focused on helping stressed sectors, middle income groups, MSMEs and more.
The Rs 2.6 5 lakh crores stimulus package includes; Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar
Yojana and tripling allocation for PM's housing scheme. With this India's overall
Covid economic package is Rs 30 lakh crores; roughly 15 per cent of GDP.
These measures are aimed at supporting an Indian economy headed towards a
recession, and sustaining the nascent growth recovery seen in October. In a press
conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman categorically said India is seeing
“strong economic recovery”, while also announcing a mix of wage support and
additional budget allocations for job creation, and to support the rural and urban
economy. The measures announced are worth Rs 2.65 lakh crore, inclusive of the Rs
1.45 lakh crore production-linked incentive scheme announced the previous day.

Of these, the support measures by the government account for 9 per cent of the
GDP, Sitharaman said. The government will provide subsidy to those firms
registered with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for all new
employees hired between 30 September 2020 and 30 June 2021, whose wages are
less than Rs 15,000. The subsidy will be provided for two years, and will cost the
government Rs 4,500 crore.
Moreover Incentives worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore will be given to boost the
manufacturing sector with a production-linked incentive for 10 sectors. This is
expected to boost India's manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports. The
government extended the Rs 3 lakh crore emergency credit line guarantee scheme
till 31 March 2021. It also extended the scope of this scheme to include firms in the
26 stressed sectors, identified by the RBI-constituted K.V. Kamath committee.
The government announced an additional capital outlay of Rs 10,200 crore for
domestic defence equipment and industrial infrastructure. In addition, it will
infuse Rs 6,000 crore as equity in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund's
debt platform, as India readies a massive Rs 111 lakh crore infrastructure pipeline.

All of us would agree that these measures are worth appreciating and one would
wish for a faster recovery. Let's keep the faith.

Wishing Happy Diwali and A Prosperous New Year to all our readers!!

NOVEMBER 2020 11 Plastics News