The package would amount to nearly 10% of India’s GDP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 20-lakh crore special economic package to deal with the impact of Covid-19. The amount includes the package unveiled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier.

In an address to the nation, PM Modi said the package amounting to about 10% of India’s GDP will support different chains of the country’s economy as the country strives to become self-reliant.

Explaining the benefits of becoming self-reliant, he said, “Coronavirus has made us understand the importance of local manufacturing and supply chains. This is what has saved all of us in this crisis,” the Prime Minister pointed out.

“Local has to become our mantra,” he pointed out. The global brands of today were once local...they became global only when people began patronising and using them,” PM Modi said.

The poor and the hardworking have faced massive problems and there was a need to strengthen them. Keeping this in mind, the poor, migrant workers... all sections will get something important in the economic package, PM Modi pointed out in his address.

Lockdown 4 to be a completely new phase

Our lives cannot revolve around coronavirus, the Prime Minister noted. “We will wear masks, take all precautions. But Lockdown 4 will be a completely new phase, with new rules,” he explained.

Suggestions from the states will be incorporated and all information will be provided by the time the current extended lockdown ends. He expressed confidence that India would fight coronavirus and move ahead even while following all the precautions and rules.

Focus on Land, Labour, Liquidity, and Laws

The Prime Minister said that the economic package would focus on key aspects like Land, Labour, Liquidity, and Laws, to help small businesses, agriculture, and labourers.

Explaining why the Special Economic Package was important, the Prime Minister said that all sectors of the economy, including cottage industry and MSMEs, were being covered.”From tomorrow onwards, the Finance Minister will provide more details about this special package for a self-reliant India,” PM Modi said.

Referring to the five pillars of growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about:

An Economy that did not bring about an incremental change but a quantum jump

Infrastructure that would become the identity of a modern India

A System that would be technology-driven and fulfil the dreams of the 21st century

A vibrant Demography that would fuel a self-reliant India

Demand and Supply chain