AGENCIES
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman said on Wednesday that the government is “closely monitoring” the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.
“We are very closely monitoring it. Secretary-level officials are engaging with their respective industries. I had informed you about various options we have including airlifting raw material for some specific sectors, resourcing from other countries.
“All these are being worked at the concerned department level. We will have quick review of all departments coming back with specific help that they may require. We will collate all these and come back to you,” Sitharaman said.
Over 2,700 people have died due to novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) while the number of those infected is around 80,000. In the wake of the virus outbreak, whose epicentre is China, many airlines, including Indian carriers, have cancelled some of their overseas flights.
The minister held a review meeting with the heads of PSBs on the issues concerning MSMEs, along withMinister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari
The minister also said that the process of merger of public sector banks was underway as per the schedule. The government has announced to merge 10 state-run banks to create four big lenders.
On bank mergers, Sitharaman said there is “no uncertainty about bank merger” and the process is on as per the schedule.