As per the report, the government is of the view that budget constraints should not come in the way of a stimulus to contain the impact of the pandemic on the economy with some experts estimating a contraction in growth during the current fiscal. Several ratings agencies such as Barclays Bank, Nomura and S&P Global Ratings have sharply cut their forecasts for India's 2020-21 GDP growth.
The sharpest cut came from the International Monetary Fund, which lowered its forecast for India's GDP growth by 390 basis points to 1.9%. However, no final decision has been taken on formulating a separate COVID-19 budget as of now, the report quoted sources as saying. The development comes amid departments adding a new account head for spending incurred on tackling COVID-19 and the effects of the lockdown. Such spending is being prioritised after the finance ministry announced expenditure curbs elsewhere, the report said.
(To view our epaper please click here. For all the latest News, Mumbai, Entertainment, Cricket, Business and Featured News updates, visit Free Press Journal. Also, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and do like our Facebook page for continuous updates on the go)
