Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an economic package that will "work as an important stimulus for a self-reliant India". This package, along with the previous announcements and RBI's recent modifications amount to almost Rs 20 lakh crores — 10 per cent of the GDP. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the details of the Self-reliant India programme and the associated reforms over the next few days. He also said that the fourth edition of the lockdown — Lockdown 4 — will keep in mind the suggestions from the states and will look much different from the last three stages. The government will inform the details before May 18.
The PM said that it will not only increase India's agricultural output, it will also help the industries and manufacturing sector and attract investments from across the world. PM Modi also added that every section of society including the migrant workers have been made a part of the financial support package. "This package, along with the previous announcements and RBI's recent modifications amount to almost Rs 20 lakh crores. This package will strengthen our cottage industries, MSMEs that employ crores. It is for those farmers and worker who have toiled in every condition to help the nation. It is also for the middle class who contribute to our growth and for those industries which have boosted the economy. The reforms in the past six years have helped keep us afloat," said the PM. "From today, all of us have to be vocal for the local produce. Not only will we buy local products but also help promote them," he added.
"We have not seen or heard of a crisis like this. We have to take precautions and not just fight this but carry on with our lives as well. We have always said that the 21st century is India's. Now, it is not just a dream but our responsibility and the way to it is only one — self-reliance. Making India self-reliant is the only way to make the 21st century belong to India," Modi said. "This calamity has brought an opportunity with it as well. When the pandemic broke, we had negligible production of PPE or N95 masks. Now we have 2 lakh PPEs and masks being produced in the country. The definition of self-sufficiency has changed in the global perspective," he added.
"India's self-reliance will be based on five pillars — economy, infrastructure, a technology-driven system that will fulfil the 21st-century dreams, demography and immense demand. We will strengthen our supply chain along with boosting the demand," he added. "Experts have said that Coronavirus will be a part of our lives — we will wear masks, adhere to restrictions and social distancing but we will also keep going forward," said the Prime Minister.
