Stimulus packages will have impact of Rs 1.29 lakh cr on fiscal deficit: SBI Report

The stimulus packages announced by the government so far to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 will dent the fiscal deficit by 0.6 per cent of the GDP or Rs 1.29 lakh crore in the ongoing financial year, said a report by State Bank of India (SBI).

With the announcement of an economic package focussing vulnerable sections of the society on Thursday, the government has so far provided a stimulus totalling Rs 16.45 lakh crore.

This implies that the remaining nearly Rs 3.54 lakh crore of the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 is yet to be announced.

All in all, the direct fiscal hit after the announcement of three packages is only 0.6 per cent of GDP at approximately Rs 1.29 lakh crore. However, support has been provided to the needy by facilitating their access to food and credit.

Of the total announcement of Rs 3.16 lakh crore (on Thursday), the total cash outlay for the Government will be around Rs 14,50014,750 crore. The impact of Thursday's package on fiscal deficit is expected to be a miniscule at 0.07 per cent of GDP, SBI's 'Ecowrap' report said.

It further said the recent crisis has shown how important it is for a huge country like India to have an infrastructure which promotes inter-operability between States and the Centre.

"The mission mode implementation of One Nation One Ration Card is a step in the right direction. So is making available the portability of welfare benefits for migrant workers and those having no ration card.

"The changes in labour laws that are being mulled over in Parliament if implemented properly could bring positive changes in the status of the labourers in this country," it said.

The Centre and States should, however, work in tandem to achieve these objectives within the mandate of overall labour welfare, the report stressed.

As per the Economic Survey of India 2017, the magnitude of inter-state migration in India was close to 9 million annually between 2011 and 2016, while Census 2011 pegs the total number of internal migrants in the country (accounting for inter and intra-state movement) at a staggering 139 million.