India govt unlikely to unveil economic stimulus before Monday

By Reuters

  • 16 Aug 2019
Credit: Reuters

The government is unlikely to announce any economic stimulus before Monday as more meetings are being planned to discuss a package, a government source said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with officials to discuss steps to arrest a slowdown, the source added.

The source said the government was looking into policy issues such as exempting foreigh portfolio investor trusts from recently imposed high tax, deferring a proposal to raise minimum public share holding in listed companies to 35% from 25% and easing of banking credit.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week held several meetings with industry leaders, who have called for stimulus measures, including tax rebates, to support consumer demand and private investment.

Meanwhile, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) slashed its forecast for India’s economic growth to 6.2% in the financial year ending next March from a previous estimate of 6.5%, warning it would be tough for authorities to engineer a turnaround.