Mumbai: Terming the latest measures as “Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday had announced a number of steps ranging from EPFO support, fertiliser support to collateral free credit to stressed sectors.
“While the estimated benefit of today’s package is Rs 2.7 trillion (1.3 per cent of GDP), our calculations suggest the actual fiscal outgo could be a maximum of Rs 1.1 trillion (0.5 per cent of GDP),” said that report titled “ECOSCOPE – The Economy Observer”.
This, along with the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), the first two packages under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’, and extension of the PMGKP amount to total estimated fiscal stimulus of Rs 17.7 trillion (Rs 17.7 lakh crore) (8.7 per cent of GDP), it said.
“However, our calculations suggest the actual fiscal outgo from these packages could be up to a maximum of Rs 4.7 trillion (2.3 per cent of GDP),” it added.
It described the latest stimulus round as another incremental step towards the betterment of the rural sector, which “unfortunately leaves the severely battered urban sector awry”.
“The government’s reiteration to not tweak its borrowing calendar anymore beyond the already increased amount of Rs 12 trillion makes it really difficult to believe how all this additional spending would actually be incurred. Consequently, the bigger question about whether or not this is new spending by the government remains,” said the report titled “ECOSCOPE – The Economy Observer”.
