PM Modi Holds Important Meeting With Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman On Second Economic Stimulus Package

PM Narendra Modi met Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman to take stock of key economic ministries such as Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), severely hit but Coronavirus pandemic. During meeting, PM Modi discussed strategies to boost Indian economy post lockdown.

EDS: TWITTER IMAGE POSTED BY @narendramodi ON MAY 1, 2020** New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a review meeting to discuss civil aviation sector, in New Delhi, Friday, May 1, 2020. Home Minister Amit Shah (ext. R) is also seen. (Twitter/PTI Photo) (PTI01-05-2020_000265B) *** Local Caption ***

New Delhi: A day before second phase of lockdown is to end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a series of meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and several other officials of key economic ministries to discuss the second stimulus package for sectors impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. To curb the spread of deadly coronavirus, a nationwide lockdown was imposed by the central government on March 24 which impacted in slowdown of several economic activities. To take a stock of key economic ministries such as Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), PM Modi met Shah and Sitharaman, and further discussed strategies to boost Indian economy post lockdown. The finance ministry, which deferred release of monthly GST collection numbers on Friday, is also scheduled to make a detailed presentation to the prime minister later in the day on the state of economy and several initiatives that it plans to undertake to stimulate Indian economy. The prime minister already had meetings with different ministries including civil aviation, labour and power on Friday. He had detailed deliberation with commerce and MSME ministries among others on Thursday with focus on attracting both domestic and overseas investment and revival of small businesses in the country so that the recovery process is hastened. To mitigate hardships faced by the bottom of the pyramid, the government in late March had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package comprising free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor and cash doles to poor women and elderly. Sources said the government is considering to announce a second dose of relief measures for the segment and a stimulus package for India Inc shortly. The government had first imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown beginning March 25 and later extended it till May 3. Beginning May 4, the government has decided to further extend the lockdown for two more weeks till May 17. However, the third phase of lockdown has come certain relaxations including opening of industries for green and orange districts which either have nil or low number of cases. Irrespective of the zone, travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road will remain banned. The easing of restriction in specified districts is till May 17 with strict vigil by local administration. (With inputs from PTI news agency)