Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, 23 August, took stock of the economy amid growing concerns of its slowdown and announced a slew of measures, bringing smiles on the faces of bankers, the automobile industry and consumers, among others.
Chairman of the Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra hailed the rollback of the surcharge on Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI), saying the move was “strong evidence of a listening capacity and the humility to course-correct.”
Sitharaman’s announcement to provide upfront capital infusion of Rs 70,000 crore into Public Sector Banks (PSB) was hailed by bankers.
SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar welcomed the move and said that the infusion will act as “major enablers for continuing to support growth,” according to ANI.
“Bank recapitalisation at one go will provide a big impetus to credit growth. Also, honest decision-making will not be questioned,” Kumar said.
Managing Editor of Financial Express Sunil Jain also praised the front-loading of the recapitalisation of funds to PSBs. However, Jain expressed uncertainty on how the move will aid bank profitability.
‘Much Needed Booster Shot for Economy’
While ratings agency Moody’s lowered India's GDP growth forecast for 2019 from 6.8 percent to 6.2 percent, Sitharaman said the country’s GDP continues to “grow at a faster pace than the global economy and any other major economy”.
A twitter user said the string of measures were a “much needed booster shot for economy/stock markets/ currency market!”
‘Announcements to Restore Confidence of Investors’
Journalist Akhilesh Sharma hailed the government’s announcement that CSR violations on part of companies will not be treated as a criminal offence.
The new measures will “boost the economy and restore confidence of the investors and consumers,” Sharma added.
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