Articles
Economic Package or COVID Budget?
The lockdown in India has impacted the movement of goods and people across districts and states. It has adversely affected their income, particularly of the poor, and thereby their purchasing power. The announcement of the 20 lakh crore package made by the Prime Minister on May 12, 2020 was cherished by all the sections of the people in the country. The unorganised labourers, small and micro entrepreneurs, migrant workers and farmers, etc hoped that there would be adequate compensation for their income loss. In the following days, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the packages in five tranches. The announcement of the first day was for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium enterprises), the second day was for guest workers, third day’s announcement was aimed at farmers and subsequent days’ announcements were not aimed at any particular group but the well-wishers of the government. Whether the package is in line with the expectations of the people who belong to the poor and vulnerable class is a point for discussion. Let us start with the intricacies of the composition of Rs 20 lakh crore.
Views expressed are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of Centre for Public Policy Research
Dr Martin Patrick is Chief Economist at CPPR. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi and also had a post-doctoral training at Tilburg University, Netherlands. Presently, he is a Visiting Fellow at Indian Maritime Institute, and Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Ernakulam.
