HTLS 2020: Economy witnessed consistent recovery in last two months, says finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that India’s economy is on the path to recovery after being hit by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. Speaking on the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) 2020, Sitharaman said that the pandemic threw unexplainable challenges, not only in India but across the world. The finance minister also said that pent up demand or festivals are not the reason.

“We are certainly in a different environment compared to when I had given the Budget. There were unexplainable challenges, not only in India but across the world. Now, looking up in terms of recovery, every sector is showing clear indication that recovery is happening,” said Sitharaman.

Recovery is there - some say patchy - but it has been happening in the last two months, the finance minister added.

Talking about the festival season and its link to the recovery, Sitharaman said, “I am not sure if the pent up and festival demands will explain more than 1 lakh crore GST collection for two consecutive months. Many industrial leaders are looking at capacity expansion, not just in one unit but across the country.”

She said that the government is looking at the situation, and filling the supply-level gaps.

Talking about the inflation, the finance minister appeared confident that the inflation will ease out by what the government has done.

When asked about the focus of next year’s Budget - in relation to the announcements made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday - Sitharaman said that the finance minister is always coordinating with the central bank.

“It’s a continuous balance-making exercise between what the RBI does and what we need to do,” said Sitharaman.

The coronavius disease pandemic has badly hit the world, killing thousands of people. It has been more than eight months since the pandemic hit, and all the countries are now working towards finding a vaccine. India too has said that it is in touch with various companies to get doses its people.

So, has the finance minister made provisions about allocating funds for the vaccine? “Whichever Covid-19 vaccine gets cleared, need to know the cost per dose and other details before allocating funds for it,” said Sitharman.

This is the first time that the HTLS is being held virtually owing to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. And in tune with the situation, ‘Defining a New Era’ has been chosen this year’s theme. From politics to sports, from medicine to education and food - the summit has seen a wide array of views coming from the experts of the respective fields on post-pandemic world.