The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has, sought an additional fiscal support of Rs 4.5 lakh crore from a quick release of Rs 2.5 lakh crore stuck in refunds and other government payments. According to FICCI, there is also a need to create a self-sufficiency fund for innovation, construction and manufacturing clusters to make use of the emerging opportunities in the wake of disruption in the global supply chain. The fund can be provided in tranches in the medium term, she said.
The problem being faced is largely that of liquidity and additional fiscal support is required for vulnerable communities over and above the sum provided for in the Garib Kalyan Yojana announced earlier
Fiscal support is also needed for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help them get back on track, she was quoted as saying by a news agency.
Besides, funds are needed for upgradation of healthcare infrastructure to effectively deal with the current situation and for support to sectors like aviation and tourism that have been hit hard due to the lockdown.
The fiscal support sought includes a ‘small amount’ of Rs 10,000 crore towards proposed COVID-19 liquidity bridge required to give comfort to banks to restructure or provide additional loans to large companies whose balance sheets have been impaired due to the virus outbreak.
