More than one and half months since he called for the nationwide lockdown to counter the spread of coronavirus, prime minister Narendra Modi announced an economic package, which he said was worth Rs 20 lakh crores. “This is nearly 10% of the country’s GDP and will help India on its road to become self reliant,” he said, calling for ‘bold reforms’.
Modi spoke at length on the nature of the package and how it would offer succour to all sections of society, but said the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, would give details on the package tomorrow, May 13. He also coined a phrase, “20 lakh 2020.” Modi also announced the fourth phase of the lockdown, and said details on it will be announced before May 18. He said it would follow rules that were very different but offered no other idea of what the rules would be.Focusing largely on the necessity to produce more in India, he said everyone would have something to strengthen their area of work in the financial package. “The local is not just necessary, but our responsibility,” he said, focusing on the MakeInIndia maxim.
“Be vocal for the local,” Modi said. Three of his government’s big moves – Jan Dhan Yojana, the Aadhaar, and mobile – said Modi, had sustained India at the time of the lockdown. It is not entirely clear what Modi meant by ‘mobile,’ although he could have referred to internet services and apps.
Modi began his speech with a reckoning of how many people have been affected by disease worldwide, offering figures of those infected and hurt. He extended condolences to all who have lost people and mused on the extent to which the virus has affected humanity.
For nearly the first 20 minutes of one of his longest addresses, Modi urged people to remain alert and spoke on India’s role in the pandemic, likening the efforts to stop the spread of the virus to a “fight.” “Last century onwards we have heard that the 21st century is Hindustan’s…When the coronavirus pandemic started, India did not produce even one PPE kit, or an N-95 mask. Now, everyday we make 2 lakh PPE and 2 lakh N-95 masks,” he said. India is not self centred in its self sufficiency, he added.