I AND MY WORDS

Courtesy: The Hindu COVID-19 has impacted economies across the world, forcing people to seek government assistance in times of desperation. India already announced the PM Garib Kalyan Package and there are talks of a package to help the besieged Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. Reserved Bank of India (RBI) too has announced a host of measures along with Ministry of Finance to ease compliance issues and infuse liquidity in the hands of the people to tide over the crisis.  Interestingly in India, a debate has also started on the very need of a stimulus package given its potential impact on fiscal credit, led by Ila Patnaik and Haseeb Drabu. This section is advocating that instead of fiscal package, states should rather be allowed to raise funds on their own, an ability they lost with the implementation of the GST. While the Indian government is working towards resolving the economic and human crisis in the most appropriate manner, we take a look at other

Pic Courtesy: Times of India News came in today  of the government going all out to woo industries willing to move out of China. While I like the effort going on and find out timely, there are a few things that people really need to ponder over as we move forward. A step back is also needed to understand just where we stand and what we need, especially with respect to potential wave of industrial expansion that we are aiming for. Market Size and Currency Valuation People in government machinery cotinue to overestimate the ability of Indian market to absorb things is overstated. Some of our best industries were really earning from exports. Textiles, auto, ceramics, pharma - you name it, the export earning is big.  Also, analysts like Sajid Chenoy and several others have regularly pointed out also that India has really seen growth in the past two decades when two factors converged: 1. Export oriented units, especially MSME sector boomed and got big orders 2. Rupee's real

Nirmala Sitharaman and Anurag Thakur at Yesterday's Press Conference (source: PIB) In yesterday’s press conference via video conferencing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in English and her deputy Anurag Thakur addressed the media and clearly stated that the aim of these announcements was to help companies and individuals to ease out worries sitting in the mind of the people with respect to various kinds of regulatory requirements. Ms. Sitharaman noted that as efforts of the lockdown to flatten the curve for the Covid-19 spread are being undertaken, she also assured everyone of an upcoming economic package. The first step however, as Mr. Thakur stated, was to ensure that the first step is taken in the direction of addressing statutory and regulatory compliance related issues. Relief on Income Tax Compliance and Regulation Deadline for filing IT returns for FY18-19 have been extended to 30 June 2020. Moreover, a reduced interest rate of 9% shall now be levied till 30 June 2