分类： bharat

5月13日，印度政府开始提出20万亿卢比规模（约合人民币1.9万亿元）经济刺激的具体对策。此举意在防止因新型冠状病毒疫情影响而低迷的经济显著恶化。计划以振兴当地制造业和农业作为重点，为在印度国内制造竞争力较强的商品而完善供应链。印度经济2020年有可能转为负增长，因此将启动大规模的经济刺激对策。
印度财政部长希塔拉曼预定当地时间5月13日在首都新德里举行记者会，首日将提出针对中小企业及建筑业、非银行金融机构资金周转的对策。计划用几天时间对整体对策进行说明。
印度自3月底开始以世界上最多的13亿人为对象启动封城措施。不过，以贫困阶层为中心，疫情蔓延并未停止，首都新德里和商业城市孟买处于难以预测经济活动重启时间的状况。
印度总理莫迪在5月12日晚间的电视演讲中强调“新冠病毒疫情导致世界崩溃，正在迫使印度自立。必须将这次危机变为商机”。将投入相当于名义国内生产总值（GDP）10％的28万亿日元，在国内构建新的供应链和市场。财源将投向充分利用基础设施建设和应用IT的最新系统，还将重新审视关于土地、就业和税制的僵化法律体系。

以产业培育迟缓为背景，印度经济自新冠疫情在世界范围内扩大之前就开始陷入低迷。2019年10～12月的实际增长率降至4.7％，为约7年来最低水平。从较近一段时间来看，印度的经济增长率以2018年1～3月的8.1％为顶峰，随后持续下降。印度在5月17日再次延长封城期限的可能性很高，支撑低迷经济的举措成为当务之急。

莫迪指出“一系列的改革将促进商业，吸引投资”，提出了相关举措能加强当地产业的振兴政策“印度制造”这一看法。这是莫迪的招牌政策，对象涉及汽等超过20个行业。

不过，外资对印度的高税制等显示出不满，制造业的培育进展迟缓是实情。管理咨询公司美国麦肯锡（McKinsey&Company）指出“印度的生产效率较低，仅为中国和泰国的四分之一到五分之一”。即使推出大规模的经济对策，也无法保证能吸引外资。能否像莫迪描绘的蓝图一样提振经济仍是未知数。

The government on Thursday unveiled special measures amounting to over Rs 3 lakh crore for migrant workers, farmers and other segments of the economy to help them tide over the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the deadly virus infection spread further in various states to push the nationwide tally closer to the 80,000 mark.

The death toll crossed 2,500, while more than 26,000 have recovered so far.

Some states like Kerala, Goa and Assam have also begun showing a sudden uptick in new cases after having flattened the curve earlier, while Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar are also reporting higher rates for past few days. Officials said most of the new cases in these places are linked to people having returned from outside in special trains, buses and flights.

Large numbers of cases continued to get reported in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and the national capital.

Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to help India become self-reliant in the wake of the pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the second round of these special measures, totalling about Rs 3.16 lakh crore in terms of concessional credit for farmers, free foodgrains for migrant workers and working capital loan for street vendors, among other incentives.

While PM Modi hailed the measures, the opposition termed them as jumla package. Meanwhile, the migrants continue to struggle in getting back home. Two accidents claimed the lives of 14 migrants and injured 60 others.

As the World Health Organization announced the coronavirus may never go away, the government announced draft guidelines for work from home, indicating that it is going to be part of work culture for the foreseeable time.

India’s Covid-19 story is typically told at the national or state level. But national trends hide the more granular stories — both good and bad. On the one hand, five districts account for half of the deaths, and on the other, 75 districts have made a remarkable turnaround.

The 10 districts with the highest cases till now are all among India’s million-plus cities. Delhi does not make it to the list because with 11 districts, the average burden of each district is lower than the worst-hit ones. Four districts in Maharashtra are among the worst hit. These are Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Pune and Thane.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state in India due to coronavirus, followed by Gujarat. Two districts of Gujarat — Ahmedabad and Surat — also appear among the 10 districts in India with the highest number of cases. The others are Chennai, Indore, Jaipur and Kolkata. But leaving aside Mumbai and Delhi, a more diverse range of districts have a higher case burden proportionate to their populations, including two districts each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Five districts — three among them in Maharashtra — account for over half of all deaths in India. These are Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Pune and Kolkata. But among districts with at least 20 deaths, some districts in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal too have an unusually high burden of deaths for their populations.

However, success stories at the district level abound. As of today, 75 districts, which earlier reported confirmed cases, are now reporting zero active cases. This includes 12 districts that had over 10 cases, but have no active cases at the moment, with Kerala leading the pack.