The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 75,000 on Wednesday with several large urban clusters reporting further spread of the deadly virus infection, while the government unveiled measures amounting to about Rs 6 lakh crore in easy loans, additional liquidity and other incentives to help businesses fight the crisis.
The first installment of the Rs 20-lakh crore economic package, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, came on the 50th day of the coronavirus lockdown and merely four days before the end of its third phase on May 17.
A decision on the future course of action on the lockdown is expected in the next few days, though Modi has that the 'fourth' phase would be different from the third one, in which some relaxations were already given.
Unveiling the first part of the special package, which Modi has said was would help India become 'self-reliant' and promote 'local' businesses here, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said no global tenders would be issued for government contracts worth up to Rs 200 crore to promote Indian MSMEs.
Taking forward the new 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' (Self-Reliant India Mission), Union Home Minister Amit Shah separately announced that all canteens of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF and the BSF will sell only indigenous products from June 1. These canteens cater to nearly 50 lakh family members of about 10 lakh personnel.
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In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said the decision has been taken after Modi's appeal for being self-reliant and opting for local products.
There are expectations that many more steps might be announced soon to promote indigenous products, though Sitharaman said being self-reliant does not mean that India would look only inwards and become an "isolationist" country.
Modi said the measures announced by the finance minister will enhance liquidity, empower entrepreneurs and strengthen their competitive spirit, while addressing various issues faced by businesses, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The measures included Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loan for businesses including MSMEs, which Sitharaman said would benefit 45 lakh small businesses.
Consultancy major KPMG India's Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar said MSMEs are critical for employment preservation and growth and helping them is the surest way to accelerate job creation. He also welcomed measures for improving liquidity for lenders and businesses, including by helping non-banking finance companies.
Congress leader P Chidambaram, however, said the Centre's COVID-19 economic stimulus package had nothing for lakhs of poor and hungry migrant workers who have been walking to their homes.
India's MSME sector employs nearly 11 crore people and accounts for about 45 per cent of the country's total manufacturing output, 40 per cent of exports and almost 30 per cent of the GDP. However, the sector has been hit hard by the lockdown, with millions of units staring at the prospect of closure and the threat of job losses.
Lakhs of migrant workers were also left jobless and homeless due to the pandemic, especially after the lockdown came into effect on March 25. While special trains and buses have been arranged for them in the recent weeks and continue to operate to help them reach their native places, thousands of them had to walk or even hide in trucks and containers to reach their destinations.
In the past few days, the large scale migrant movement has raised another worry of the virus getting spread further. Also, some cases have come to the light, including in Kerala, of people testing positive after being airlifted from abroad under a massive evacuation scheme of the central government which is currently underway to bring back stranded Indians and expatriates in different countries.
Kerala, where new cases had stopped coming up till a few days back, saw 10 more people testing positive, including four who have come from abroad.
At the same time, large numbers of new cases continued to come up in Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, among some other states and UTs.
In its morning update, the Union Health Ministry said the death toll due to COVID-19 has risen to 2,415 and the number of cases has climbed to 74,281, registering an increase of 122deaths and 3,525 cases since Tuesday morning. This included over 47,000 active cases and more than 24,000 who have recovered.
However, a PTI tally of numbers disclosed by states and UTs, as of 6.45 PM, showed at least 75,144 total cases across the country. It also showed nearly 25,000 having recovered so far.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said nine states and UTs, including Chhattisgarh, Ladakh, Manipur andMeghalaya, have not reported any new case of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours while Daman and Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep have not reported any cases so far.
Vardhan also said the the doubling time of cases has improved to 12.6 in the last three days, from 11 in the past 14 days. He further observed that the fatality rate is 3.2 per cent and the recovery rate is pegged at 32.8 per cent.
Separately, the government also said that PMCARES Fund Trust has decided to allocate Rs 3,100 crore for the fight against COVID-19, out of which nearly Rs 2000 crore will be earmarked for purchasing ventilators and Rs 1000 crore for migrant labourers.
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