India would require economic stimulus worth Rs 65,000 crore in a bid to help poor deal through the Covid-19 crisis, according to Former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Rajan said this in his video conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, earlier in the day.
“This is not so much. Our GDP is Rs 200 lakh crore. In that, Rs 65,000 crore isn’t much. We can do it, and if it is for the poor and saving their lives, we should do it,” Rajan said.
Besides, he stressed that the agriculture sector and workers in the country need support from the centre for dealing with the lockdown impact, saying while the uncertainty is on, measures of getting money and food, for them have to be found.
Rajan also stated that lockdown cannot last for a longer period of time, since India does not have the capacity to meet the hunger requirements of its people across the spectrum. He emphasized that the country has to open up new measured way but as fast as possible, so that people start having jobs.
“Lot of work needs to be done, in creating structures, as well as ensuring the workplace is relatively safe, and ensuring if there are fresh cases, then isolate quickly without having to go to a second or third lockdown. Those would be devastating if we have to go there,” he said.
