COVID PACKAGE

Johnson’s bleak house Britain

• 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.

The antidote for India’s healthcare woes

• 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.

Covid-19: Delhi records 2,706 fresh cases; positivity rate dips to below 4%

• 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

Hong Kong bars Air India flights for 4th time as passengers test covid positive

• 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

India Inc seeks rate cut, fresh fiscal stimulus

• 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

India to offer production linked incentives to boost manufacturing

• 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

Risky bond sales jump to 15-month high in India on stimulus

• 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

PM Narendra Modi extends free foodgrain scheme for poor till November

• 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

State-run lenders have at least ₹7.9 tn loans under moratorium

• 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

Lenders see small and medium businesses making a recovery soon

• 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

MSME bailout hits stamp duty hurdle

• 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

Pandemic helps Zoom boom, video chat firm doubles 2020 guidance

• 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

Centre won’t curb imports, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

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

NBFCs request FM for changes to liquidity schemes

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

Cabinet approves key proposals in ₹20 tn economic  package

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

CBDT gives wholesalers relief on electronic payment norms

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

'Govt to help migrants in coming back when industrial activities resume'

• 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

States weed out obstacles to help farmers sell their produce

• 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

I've done the best for India Inc: Sitharaman on stimulus package

• 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’