India's second covid19 stimulus to focus on aid to small businesses

New Delhi: A second stimulus package India is poised to announce in coming days will be worth around 1 trillion rupees ($13 billion) and focus on help for small and medium businesses weathering the coronavirus outbreak, two senior officials said on Wednesday.

Last month, India outlined a 1.7-trillion rupee ($22.6-billion) economic stimulus plan providing direct cash transfers and food security measures to give relief to millions of poor hit by an ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown.

“The second package could be focused largely on MSMEs,” one of the senior government officials, with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters, using an acronym for micro, small and medium enterprises.

The official said a separate package could be announced for bigger companies after assessing the extent of the hit they have faced due to the lockdown imposed to fight the outbreak.

Small businesses account for nearly one-quarter of India’s $2.9 trillion economy and employ more than 500 million workers, according to government estimates.

India has so far recorded 5274 cases of the coronavirus, which has also killed 149 people in the country. The country is now considering narrowing its lockdown to coronavirus hotspots after the nationwide lockdown ends on April 14.

Indian media have been speculating that the government would soon announce more relief to help the struggling economy.

The new package aimed at MSMEs could include increases in the limits of bank loans for working capital needs, hiking threshold limits for availing tax exemptions and relaxing rules for deposits of income tax and other dues, the sources said.