The economy worldwide has seen a major downturn amid the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. All the industries, manufacturing, production activities have been hit given the lockdown announced by many countries — which is the need of the hour.
Nobody knows when things will go back to normal (we hope its sooner), and even when it does, it will take some time to recover from the crisis. Therefore, things have to be done for now to save from a big disaster. The central government authorities across the world are doing their bit by announcing various stimulus packages -
*A stimulus package is measures taken by the government to increase government spending or lower taxes and boost spending and employment in times of recession/depression to prevent the economy.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced a ₹1.7 lakh crore stimulus package amid the coronavirus lockdown — especially for the poor, migrant workers section of the country. She announced the allocation of funds to various schemes that will help MGNREGA, construction, health workers and others.
The FM recently also announced various statutory and regulatory compliance relief measures amid the shutdown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also announced ₹15,000 crore fund allocation to strengthen the country’s health infrastructure amid the pandemic.
The government is expected to announce measures for industries, specific sectors like airline, travel, tourism and such in the coming days to get the economy back on track.
United States
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday gave its approval for $2 trillion stimulus package in a measure to provide support to its economy that is hit by the pandemic.
The package proposals key elements are — $250 billion set aside for direct payments to individuals and families, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits and $500 billion in distressed companies’ loans.
On the other hand, the U.S. Senate has also offered $58 billion aid to struggling airlines industry that is hit the most due to travel restrictions and no business.
Singapore, UK & others
Singapore also unveiled its plans on Thursday to provide over $30 billion (Around Singapore $33 billion) in new measures to help businesses fight this crisis.
The United Kingdom’s government has allocated around $66 billion (57 billion pounds) in a package to support the country’s economy.
All the other nations are also trying to provide support to their respective economies to save the disaster as much as they can.
No doubt such support packages will widen all the countries’ budget/fiscal deficit. The cost of the lockdown will also be a big price to pay. But during these uncertain times, such numbers and cost would not matter, all that matters right now is enough and efficient measures being taken to protect the damage and help the people as well as the economy.
If you have any questions about the coronavirus, please check this article, published by WHO.
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