FM reiterates the need to make India self-reliant; Says package benefits both demand and supply side

New Delhi, May 23: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday stressed the need to make the country self-reliant. "Import should be possibly made within the country, but the country still has to import goods which help produce both for the country itself and also for exports", she said a week after announcing 5 tranches of Rs 20 lakh crore 'Aatma Nirbhar Package'.

 

"The way the goverment has designed the package, it would give immediate help to all those who need additional capital in order to kickstart the economy. It will benefit both demand and the supply side", she said. On the call of restarting the economy during the epidemic, Sitharaman said that she has kept open all options with reassurance that government is ready to help.

  

 

Further talking about RBI's recent decisions, the Finance Minister said, they have been very timely and made a lot of difference to the sentiments which prevails and also immediately make available affordable liquidity. She also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking bold decisions to free farmers off historical shackles.

Sitharaman on Friday reviewed the readiness of banks in implementing the over ₹20-lakh crore Atmanirbhar relief package. The government is relying heavily on the public sector banks to deliver the goods when it comes to implementation of this package. In her video conference with chief executives of PSBs, Sitharaman is reported to have underscored the need for banks to do some heavy lifting for the successful implementation of the stimulus measures.

 

This meeting came on a day when the RBI further cut its repo rate by 40 basis points. The aspect of banks being asked to push credit and lend more to help economic revival also figured in the discussions, it is learnt. On their part, bank chiefs said they were aligned on the need for quickly addressing the needs of MSMEs and other customers.