Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic, Corporate India is facing major economic loss week after week. The recent extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3 has broadened the loss figure from $16.6 billion to $26 billion a week, as per the estimated figure.
“India may be losing close to Rs 40,000 crore daily ($5.25 billion) because of the lockdown, with an estimated loss of Rs 8 trillion during the past 21 days. It is also expected that close to 40 million jobs are at risk during during April-Sept 2020,” said Sangita Reddy, president of Ficci.
The economic loss has broadened largely due to higher-than-expected production loss in the agriculture, utilities, construction, wholesale and retail, as well as metals and mining sectors. Previous estimates primarily focused on losses suffer by the travel, tourism, airlines, and hotels sectors. Despite the drain of additional liquidity, lenders are unwilling to fund medium and small companies while focusing on the large corporate, reported The Economic Times.
As quoted by ET Pawan Munjal, chairman of Hero Motocorp, stated that a stimulus package was required for the economy to bounce back, and that a graded respite would help re-open factories.
“While continuing to play its role in supporting the government through various means and measures, India Inc looks forward to a suitable stimulus package that will give a boost to our economy,” said Munjal.
In a recently organised meeting between business leaders, bankers, and government officials organised by Ficci, some chief executives (CEOs) opined for interest-free loans, extension of the moratorium on loan repayments to six months, and higher relaxation in tax payments for few months.
Rajneesh Kumar, chairman of SBI, however, stated that the ball was in the Reserve Bank of India and government’s court, and that as a lender, it is also responsible to keep depositors’ interests in mind, reported ET.
