200 billion $ required to compensate for loss of income: ASSOCHAM

The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) said that a minimum stimulus of USD 200 billion is required to support the Indian economy in this time of crisis. A corpus of $50-100 billion cash needs to be infused over the next three months to arrest the loss of jobs and compensate for the loss of income.

The industry body also said that the government should consider a reduction in GST across the board by 50 per cent for at least three months and 25 per cent for the fiscal. In a recommendation letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, ASSOCHAM President Dr Niranjan Hiranandani has proposed several measures to support the country's economy through its fight with the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chamber has said that in keeping up with most economies of the world to institute stimulus measures with 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Indian economy would need a transfusion of over USD 200 billion with an ability to go up to USD 300 billion, over the next 12-18 months. Out of the corpus, USD 50-100 billion cash needs to be infused in the system over the next three months, to arrest job losses and compensate for the loss of income.