India’s 20 Lakh Crore Stimulus Package Almost Equal To Pakistan’s GDP

The value of India's stimulus package is almost equivalent to Pakistan's annual GDP of $284 billion, according to the World Bank estimate for the neighbouring nation.

People sit while maintain social distancing for food distribution after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Quetta on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)

New Delhi, May 13: With global economies taking a severe hit due to Covid-19 induced lockdown bringing several economies to their knee, it is estimated that Pakistan may post a GDP loss of 5.5 per cent if the lockdown continues for nine months. It is quite interesting to note that the next round of stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendar Modi which is worth Rs 20-lakh crore is almost equal to Pakistan’s GDP. The package announced at $266 billion, in dollar terms is higher than the GDP of around 149 countries including Vietnam, Portugal, Greece, New Zealand and Romania. In fact the value of the stimulus is almost equivalent to Pakistan's annual GDP of $284 billion, according to the World Bank estimate. The Pakistan daily Tribue has reported quoting the think tank of Lahore School of Economics (LSE) which has used a general equilibrium macro (GEM) model, estimated Pakistan may experience a 2.9 per cent contraction in GDP growth in 2020, as a result of a three-month lockdown (March to May). It has revealed that if the lockdown was extended to six months (March to August), Pakistan may post a negative growth of 3.1 per cent in 2020. In fact, neighbouring Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities in the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 jumped to a whopping Rs42.8 trillion, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), as reported in Profitpakistantoday.com This latest figure is equal to 98.2 per cent of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of that total amount, Pakistan’s debt stands at Rs40.5 trillion, a 22 per cent rise compared to the same corresponding period in 2019. The government domestic debt stood at Rs22.4 trillion. Of that amount, permanent debt made up Rs13.2 trillion, floating debt made up Rs5.7 trillion, and unfunded debt made up Rs3.4 trillion, according to the website.