Day after govt announced PLI scheme, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address media

Though the details of the package were not revealed, the official quoted by Reuters said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other top officials will finalise a fresh stimulus plan on Thursday.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will brief the media at 12:30pm on Thursday. Her address comes a day after the government approved a ₹2 lakh crore production-linked incentive (PLI) package to boost demand in the country.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressing a press conference on Cabinet decisions at National Media Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

To push domestic manufacturing in identified sectors, the Centre cleared a ₹2 lakh crore package and launched a ₹8,100-crore viability gap funding (VGF) scheme to encourage private participation in social infrastructure such as water supply and solid waste management.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that the purpose of the PLI scheme is to make the country a global manufacturing hub, and added that the second VGF decision will usher in public-private partnership (PPP) in the social infrastructure sector.

Apart from the package announced on Wednesday, the government is planning to announce a fresh round of stimulus totalling about $20 billion this week to help pull the economy out of its historic contraction, news agency Reuters reported citing government officials.

In a tweet the Prime Minister said the Cabinet decision will boost manufacturing, give opportunities to youth and make India a preferred investment destination. “This is an important step towards improving our competitiveness & realising an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he wrote on Twitter.

It may be noted that the finance minister had on October 19 said that the government has started a mid-year review of the economy and is open to offering another stimulus package after demands from various quarters and industry bodies.