Handling second wave: FM Sitharaman reaches out to India Inc

The sought feedback from businesses to deal with the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on the nation’s economy.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said she took inputs from several industry chambers over concerns of India Inc regarding the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that the government would continue to work with state governments to save lives and livelihood.

The sought feedback from businesses to deal with the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on the nation’s economy.

“Spoke on telephone with each of the following business/Chamber leaders. Took their inputs on industry/Association related matters. Informed them that GoI at various levels from @PMOIndia is responding to #Covid management. Working together with states for lives and livelihoods,” Sitharaman tweeted.

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Among the heads of industry chambers who interacted with the minister were CII president Uday Kotak, Ficci president Uday Shankar and Assocham president Vineet Agarwal.

Other business leaders like Tata Steel managing director T V Narendran, L&T chairman A M Naik, TCS managing director Rajesh Gopinathan, Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava, TVS Group chairman Venu Srinivasan and Hero Moto Corp managing director Pawan Munjal too gave their feedback on the situation due to rising Covid cases and local containments.

In the first quarter of the previous financial year, FY21, the economy had contracted by 23.9 per cent, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week, the Finance Minister made it clear that the government would not go for lockdowns in a big way and only resort to local containment to break the Covid-19 chain.