New Delhi : Industry bodies FICCI and ASSOCHAM on Wednesday called for phased opening up of the economy and re-starting growth with a stimulus package of 200 billion to 300 billion dollars (about Rs 15 lakh crore to 22 lakh crore).
COVID-19 is a global health and economic crisis with an abrupt halt of activity across nations which has deeply slowed down consumption, said FICCI’s Secretary General Dilip Chenoy.
There is a massive loss of employment in certain sectors like hospitality, aviation, tourism, media and entertainment. A sharp fall in equity markets is combined with higher default risk and possibility of increase in non-performing assets, he said in a presentation.
“All industry sectors across the board are facing the heat. Experts estimate a combined loss of 1.13 billion dollars in hotel, aviation and tourism alone due to large-scale cancellations.”
The residential real estate is expected to register an annual decline of 25 to 35 per cent. “The country’s retail sector has faced losses of up to 30 billion dollars over the past fortnight with non-grocery and food retailers reporting 80 to 100 per cent reduction in sales,” said Chenoy.
He called for bringing down the cost of funds further through reduction in policy rates by about 100 basis points besides providing special liquidity support for any companies, banks and non-banking finance companies that may come under strain.
ASSOCHAM Secretary General Deepak Sood called for a stimulus package of at least 200 billion to 300 billion dollars to thwart what he called is one of the deepest global recession expected in the world’s history.
