A day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced new sops to give a boost to the COVID-19-hit economy, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called the economic package a hoax.
“No family can spend the Finance Minister’s ‘economic package’ for their living, food, medicine or their children school fees. Not a package, another hoax!,” he tweeted.
On Monday, the Minister announced ₹1.5 lakh crore of additional credit for small and medium businesses, funds for the healthcare sector, additional loans to tourism agencies, visa fee waiver for foreign tourists and extra funds for the healthcare sector.
“Some elementary truths: Credit guarantee is not credit. Credit is more debt. No banker will lend to a debt-ridden business,” former Union Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram said in a series of tweets.
“Debt-burdened or cash-starved businesses do not want more credit, they need non-credit capital. More supply does not mean more demand (consumption). On the contrary, more demand (consumption) will trigger more supply,” he stated.
