COVID PACKAGE

• Britain is facing immense uncertainty amid the mishandling of the pandemic and Brexit, and Boris Johnson’s government needs to urgently recapture its reformist zeal to set the country back on a recovery path.

• By encouraging collaboration and combining digital approaches with traditional healthcare models, India can create a powerful antidote that addresses the challenges related to access, affordability and quality of care.

• 69 fatalities were recorded in Delhi, pushing the toll due to Covid-19 in the national capital to 9,643
• The active caseload on Sunday dropped to 24,693 from 26,678 the previous day

• Previous bans were during September 20-October 3 and August 18-August 31 and October 17-October 30
• Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23

• Analysts at both Nomura and Bank of America said the finance ministry needs to take strong supportive measures to support demand
• According to economists, the current scenario will need an aggressive fiscal response

• Asia's third-largest economy is expected to contract by as much as 10% in the current fiscal year beginning April, some private economists' estimate
• Industry and government sources said sectors such as textile and food processing manufacturers could be offered production linked incentives

• Issuance of local-currency corporate notes graded A+ and lower rose to a 15-month high of 51.7 billion rupees ($690.5 million) in June
• To ease strains on corporate finances, the Reserve Bank of India since late March has funded banks’ purchase of 1.13 trillion rupees of company bonds

• 800  million  will  get  5kg  wheat or  rice, 1kg of pulses a  month
• India unveiled a ₹1.75 trillion relief package for the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana on 26 March

• The actual extent of the moratorium will be greater because except SBI, other banks have not given any absolute numbers on moratorium
• In the absence of any standard disclosure format, different banks have used different metrics for moratorium disclosures

• The government has already pledged ₹3 trillion support to the MSME sector, the backbone of the Indian economy
• MSMEs are also worried about sourcing raw material from China, amid calls to boycott its products in the wake of the Ladakh border clash

• Under the emergency credit line backed by a government guarantee, banks have sanctioned loans worth over ₹79,000 crore as of 20 June
• In a meeting with finance minister last week, lenders pointed out that many of these small firms were not using the facility as they could not afford to pay stamp duty

• The number of daily meeting participants on Zoom peaked at 300 million in April 2020, 30 times of those in December
• The company said it will offer better encryption for paid customers though it did not commit to making it free

FM’s assurance allays fears that India’s quest for self-reliance may see it veer away from the path of globalization

Not happy with the three-month tenure of a ₹30,000 crore scheme, NBFCs want it extended to three years

The cabinet also cleared a special liquidity scheme for NBFCs and housing finance firms as part of the package

The use of e-payment modes was made compulsory in 2019 in a bid to promote a less-cash economy

• Nirmala Sitharaman said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat is aimed at making Indian globally competitive
• Sitharaman said a lot of companies have had queries from the workers to check if the lockdown is going to be lifted soon and when the production is likely to commence

• Several states are taking steps meant not only to ease sale of produce but also to check food price rise
• States expect removal of intermediaries in purchasing to boost farmers’ income

• Union finance minister defends lockdown and stimulus package, says government will not hesitate to take more steps to support Indian businesses
• ‘The schemes are getting implemented, and people will have some money in their hands and start business again’