‘With Covid-19 vaccine coming, economic recovery will gain traction’: Sitharaman at HTLS
During the summit, Sitharaman also talked about the budgetary provision for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that with Covid-19 coming soon, the country’s economic recovery will gain traction. She also talked about the budgetary provision for the Covid-19 vaccine and said that without more details on the vaccine, it will be difficult to comment on associated funds allocation.
“Whichever Covid-19 vaccine gets cleared, we need to know the cost per dose and other details before allocating funds for it,” she told Hindustan Times’ editor-in-chief, R Sukumar during day 6 of Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2020.
“We don’t know details of the Covid-19 vaccine. Will it be one dose or two-doses? Or will there be recurrent doses? Unless we get these details, how much per dose will cost, we can’t say about vaccine’s budgetary provision,” she added.
Also read: At HTLS 2020, Sitharaman discusses economic recovery, Covid-19 impact and more - Highlights
Sitharaman said that the environment is much different now as compared to when she had presented the budget earlier this year. She also shared that, although some would describe it as “patchy” but economic recovery has consistently been taking place.
“Every sector is showing a clear indication that recovery is happening,” she said.
Sitharaman said inflation on food prices will not continue. “It can be attributed to seasonal fluctuation. With periodic intervention from government, the blip in inflation will ease out,” she shared.
Besides Sitharaman, the sixth day of HTLS 2020 also saw YOOX Net-a-Porter Group’s Federico Marchetti and David Andrew Sinclair, professor of genetics and co-director of the Paul F Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School in participation at the virtual summit.
