Delivering some festive cheer, the bouquet of measures announced today under the Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package covered many important areas including support to the stressed sectors, thrust to employment creation and public investment in infrastructure. “It is heartening to note that despite fiscal constraints, the government chose to hasten the recovery process by spending an additional Rs 2.65 lakh crore, thus taking the cumulative fiscal stimulus (till date) to Rs 17.2 lakh crore or 9% of GDP. In addition the RBI has also announced measures amounting to 12.7 lakh crores, till date” said Mr Uday Kotak, President, CII in a release issued here today..
“Taking cognizance of CII’s recommendation, the government’s decision to extend the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the 26 stressed sectors identified by the Kamath Committee and including the healthcare sector, is most welcome and we thank Hon’ble Finance Minister for being so receptive to the affected sections of the economy. This will help the sectors, which employ a large number of people, tide over the cash crunch and working capital issues, in the wake of low demand”, mentioned Mr Kotak. Designed on the lines of a similar scheme existing for the MSMEs, ECLGS 2.0 will provide 100% guaranteed collateral free additional credit, thus helping to provide interim liquidity support to these sectors, till demand recovers.
The significant steps to energise employment in both formal and informal sectors of the economy are welcome. “The announcement of the marquee Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana by elucidating a slew of relief measures to facilitate hiring of new employees by EPFO registered organisations is expected to incentivise new employment in the formal sector. Along with an increased outlay of Rs 10,000 crore under PM Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana which will accelerate rural economy, the two measures will improve the employment outlook of the economy significantly”, said Mr Kotak.
In view of the success seen under the existing Production-linked incentives (PLI) for earlier announced three sectors, the move to extend the scheme for the 10 champion sectors is a positive sign and is expected to boost the competitiveness and employment potential of the domestic manufacturing sector. In addition, the well-calibrated measures announced to energise the critical infrastructure sector through steps such as increasing the outlay under PM Awaas Yojana (Urban), support to the contractors bidding for various projects in public sector, improving infra financing by equity infusion in NIIF debt platform are expected to have multiplier impact on the economy. “The boost to the core sectors of steel, cement, fertilisers through schemes meant for boosting housing and agriculture sector are all very impressive measures and will buoy the output and employment potential of these sectors”, highlighted Mr Kotak.
Mr T V Narendran, President Designate, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII):
Today’s announcement of a 12-step package by Hon’ble Finance Minister will go a long way towards economic recovery and takes forward the earlier measures taken to stabilize the economy. The emphasis on key sectors with high elasticity such as construction and real estate along with measures to provide adequate credit will kickstart investments and job creation. Downstream impact on sectors such as steel and cement can be considerable going forward. We congratulate the Finance Minister on a well-thought out and comprehensive stimulus package.
Mr Sanjiv Bajaj, Vice President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chairman & Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv:
The Finance Minister’s announcements today covering 12 areas are positive as a very focussed strategy. It’s a “sniper” approach to address specific issues rather than a carpet bombing one. Supply side measures are addressed for stressed sections of society as well as the economy. The Government has done well to support businesses and encourage them to expand new hiring. Each of the initiatives announced today would play a role in getting the engines of growth running again.
12 November 2020
New Delhi