New Delhi: An economic package by the Centre is on the cards to bail out sectors affected by coronavirus, said sources on Monday.
The stage was set four days ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the formation of a special task force headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The COVID-19 ‘Economic Response Task Force’, would take an overview of the situation and suggest the way forward, he had said.
Sitharaman has already declared that the donations made towards fighting COVID-19 would be counted as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.
“In view of the spread of novel #CoronaVirus in India, its declaration as pandemic by the WHO, and decision of Government of India to treat this as notified disaster, it is hereby clarified that spending of CSR funds for COVID-19 is eligible CSR activity. #IndiaFightCorona,” the finance minister had tweeted.
In his address to the nation on Thursday, the prime minister had admitted that coronavirus will certainly have a huge effect on the Indian as well as global economy. However, how much of India’s economy will be affected is yet to be assessed.
