Sitharaman said she would hold a meeting with the secretaires of different ministries on Wednesday and then announce steps to deal with the situation in consultation with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). "There are no concerns about price rise so far due to Coronavirus," she said, adding it is too early to talk about the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on the Make in India initiative.
The Finance Minister also said there were no reports of shortage of medicines or medical equipment, instead the pharma industry is asking for lifting of ban on exports of certain items. However, there could be some disruptions in supplies and concerns have been expressed by the representative of pharma, solar and chemical industries, she said.
A recent report stated that novel coronavirus outbreak in China is likely to impact India's electronics and chemical sectors. The report said that chemicals and related sectors like pharmaceuticals, as well as electronics and electrical machinery are 'high risk' sectors after the outbreak of the disease.
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India imports the majority of electronic products from China and exports chemicals and pharmaceutical products to that country. During today's meeting with FM Sitharaman, pharma companies urged the government to consider airlifting of API supplies from China, in order to avoid any shortage of pharma manufacturing and availability of drugs.
However, speaking on the impact of the deadly disease on country's economy, FM Sitharaman said that there are no concerns about the price rise so far. The meeting was attended by senior officials from Central Government Ministries and Departments including Customs and representatives from various sectors. Leaders from FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM also attended it.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has recently said in a report that India along with other countries require to have strategies for "minimising risks and managing the situation". The report also pointed out that the outbreak of Covid-19 in China is expected to have a significant impact on global economy.
Several business experts and entrepreneurs have urged government to cut import duties on antibiotic drugs, mobile parts and other items as the outbreak of the Coronavirus has disrupted supplies.
Chinese health authority on Tuesday said it received reports of 1,886 new confirmed cases of novel Coronavirus infection and 98 deaths on Monday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The overall death toll in the outbreak surged past 1,800 as off now.