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FM allays fears on price rise, to discuss COVID-19 with PMO
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SME Times News Bureau | 18 Feb, 2020
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Tuesday said she will discuss with the PMO about the
relief that could be offered to industry but allayed any immediate
worries about scarcity of any raw materials as yet on account of
inventories built up by sectors as also on price rise.
"There
could be some disruptions in supplies and concerns have been expressed
by the representative of pharma, solar and chemical industries," she
said, adding the industry has sought easier bank payments and paperwork
processes.
"The government will soon announce measures to deal with the impact of Coronavirus outbreak on the domestic industry," she said.
"There
are no concerns about price rise (of medicines) so far. There is no
report of shortage of masks and medicines in Indian hospitals. In fact,
there was a demand from those who manufacture medical devices to remove
ban on exports," she said on the impact of Coronavirus.
Responding
to questions, Sitharaman also said that it is too early to talk about
impact of Coronavirus outbreak on the 'Make in India' initiative.
She
said following Tuesday's meeting, Secretary-level meetings on the
impact and relief will be held on Wednesday and the Finance Ministry
Secretaries will talks to the assigned departmental secretaries for
pinning down the problems. "Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal
will also be part of this exercise," she said.
The minister added
the industry has sought self-declaration by Customs from the Indian
companies to release their stocks as since the necessary paperwork is
not coming from China, their stocks have been held here in the ports.
"The
Secretaries will come with some solutions tomorrow post which hopefully
we will also have a discussion with the PMO and some response will be
announced at the earliest," she said.
"MSMEs wants banks
flexibility on repayment on delay of any supply. All the sector have
stated that there is supply disruptions due to Coronavirus. But there is
no talk of price rise due to these supply side issues," the minister
said.
The Finance Ministry had invited industry and trade members
to give their feedback on the Coronavirus outbreak impacts. The meeting
discussed on immediate contextual challenges and opportunities in
supply chain of export & imports.
During their meeting with
Sithraman, pharma companies requested the government to consider
airlifting of API supplies from China, in order to avoid any shortage of
pharma manufacturing and availability of drugs.
The worst-hit
sectors among industry are electronics, textile, steel and pharma. The
Indian industry which is in the grip of a slowdown is dependent on China
on many raw materials like telecom and IT components, smart phones,
computers and the government in Tuesday's meeting was taking stock of
the fact that the production and supply chain is not disrupted for the
manufacturing industry.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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