Government is planning new budget for COVID-19
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Authorities have had discussions, planning a sovereign COVID-19 budget to build resilience and reshape results.
The view is that budget constraints should not come in the way of a stimulus as the economy faces grave challenges with some experts projecting a contraction in FY21.
No final decision has been taken on the matter as the government looks at ways to counter the disease and its economic impact, said people with knowledge of the matter.
This comes as some departments are adding a new Covid-19 account head for spending incurred on tackling the disease and the effects of the ensuing lockdown. Such spending is getting priority after the finance ministry announced expenditure curbs elsewhere.
India has so far announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore programme — equivalent to 0.7% of GDP— to mitigate hardships caused due to the lockdown to vulnerable groups. This includes free rations, cooking gas and cash transfers. Some countries have announced bigger stimulus packages to support their economies — that of the US is about 10% of GDP.
