New Delhi, Mar 31 (UNI) With the end of Financial Year-2019-20 on Tuesday, India is gearing up for an all-out effort to counter the economic slowdown, likely to emerge in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak.
Even as the forecast says that the growth rate will reduce from the projected 5.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent in the coming fiscal, the Narendra Modi Government has adopted an 'all-of-society' approach to fight the 'greatest' health challenge post Independence.
The Government has announced a financial package of Rs 1.70 lakh crore to meet the emergency health situation in the country.
Though the extension of FY 2019-20 has not been officially announced yet, last dates for filing of Income Tax Return and GST Return have already been extended to June 30, 2020.
According to the experts, India has a very robust policy on disaster risk management, and this is evident from its zero-tolerance approach to casualties in disaster events and its full embrace of the Sendai Framework.
The coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, launched by Prime Minister Modi at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in 2019 and supported by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) emphasises the importance of public health infrastructure.
"India does not see the Covid-19 outbreak as simply a health issue but has taken an all-of-government, all-of- society approach which is very much in the spirit of the Sendai Framework," the economic experts observed in unison.
An analysis showed that the Rs 18 lakh crore tourism industry is fearing direct job loses of 1.2 million, the hotel industry is expecting revenue losses of 1.3 - 1.5 billion dollar.
The restaurant industry which employs over seven million people is expecting likely job losses of 15 - 20 per cent, the analysis said.
Aviation experts are predicting over Rs 4,000 crore in loses to private carriers and the retail business is fearing about 11 million job losses if the current crisis in the country continues for a few months.
The Union Council of Ministers is meeting today to take stock of the overall situation.
Meanwhile, the Corona death toll in the country rose to 33 with the worldwide toll reaching nearing 34,000.
UNI ADG RHK0920