Have reached pre-COVID-19 level, Modi government working on another stimulus package: Finance Secretary

Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey has indicated that the Modi government is working on another stimulus package, news agency ANI reported. Bhushan said that the government keeps monitoring the situation on the ground to assess which sector of the economy or segment of the population needs what kind of help at which time.

“We keep taking suggestions from industry bodies, trade associations, various ministries and after going through their suggestions and requirements of the economy, we come out with timely measures,” Bhushan, a 1984-batch IAS officer, said.

Bhushan didn’t give a timeframe regarding when the government will announce the package. “But yes, the government was on it and deliberations on further interventions were on,” he said. 

Bhushan was elevated as the finance secretary earlier this year. He is known to be a multi-tasker. For nearly a year between 2018 and 2019, Bhushan handled three crucial positions together — as revenue secretary, chief executive of UIDAI, and chairman of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).

Stating that the economy was on the recovery path and moving towards sustained growth, he said that that September and October data shows that we have reached pre-COVID-19 level and gone into positive territory. 

“September and October data shows that we have reached Pre-COVID-19 level and gone into positive territory. If we compare with the last year, the E-Way bill in September has seen year on year growth of 10 per cent and in October it has seen a growth of 21 per cent,” he said.

“If we compare with the last year, the E-Way bill in September has seen year on year growth of 10 per cent and in October it has seen a growth of 21 per cent,” he told ANI.

“The October GST collection has been Rs 105,155 crore which is 10 per cent higher year-on-year for the corresponding month last year. This September, the economy had also shown 4 per cent growth at Rs 95,480 crore in GST collections y-o-y. Further, the country has seen a growth in electricity consumption, exports, and imports,” he added.

“If we are able to maintain this growth for the next five months, then we can say that we can transition from deep negative zone to near-zero growth zone by March 2021. International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India”s GDP to contract 10.3 per cent this fiscal year, revised from its forecast of a 4.5 per cent decline in June,” the Finance Secretary opined.

With ANI Inputs

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