Govt's fiscal stimulus package hopelessly inadequate: Chidambaram

While responding to a question of ETV Bharat on Government's decision of opening up defence, airspace and aerospace sectors to the foreign companies, Chidambaram said, "These are grandeur announcements by an opportunistic government which is taking a shelter under the factor that there is no Parliament sittings, no committee meeting, and no stakeholder consultation. Privatisation of the PSUs cannot be done overnight. This is not the time of grand clearance sale of PSUs to your favorites friends in the private sector."

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday said the fiscal stimulus package announced by the government is "hopelessly inadequate" given the gravity of the economic crisis as it amounts to only Rs 1.86 crore, which is 0.91 per cent of the GDP.

He further added that most analyst and rating agencies have placed the size of this fiscal stimulus at between 0.8 to 1.5%. "We note, with deep regret, that the fiscal stimulus package has left several sections high and dry including bottom half of the population, migrant workers, farmers, landless agricultural labour, daily wage non agricultural labour, MSMEs and many others," he said.

	The following qualify as the Fiscal stimulus measures according to chidambaram
SN	Item	(Rs.Cr.)
1.	Revenue loss due to tax concessions	7,500
2.	Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package	33,000+60,000
3.	Medical and Health infrasturcture	15000
4.	EPF Support for Business & Workers	2,800
5.	Reduction in EPF rates	6,750
6.	Free Food grain Supply to Migrant Workers for 2 months	3,500
7.	Interest Subvention for MUDRA Shishu Loans	1,500
8.	Additional credit through KCC	8,000
9.	TOP to TOTAL: Operation Greens	500
10.	Promotion of Herbal Cultivation	4,000
11.	Viability Gap Funding	8,100
12.	Additional MGNREGS allocation	40,000
	Total	1,86,650

The party sought a revised and comprehensive package of 10 per cent of the GDP.

He also said that currently the government should not think about fiscal deficit as the immediate concern should be to "borrow more, spend more and give a fiscal stimulus to the economy".

"We express our thorough disappointment and request the government to reconsider the stimulus package and announce a revised and comprehensive fiscal stimulus package of not less than Rs 10 lakh crore of real additional expenditure equivalent to 10 per cent of GDP," he said at a press conference through video-conferencing.

Chidambaram also accused the government of being opportunistic by pushing reforms. It is bypassing Parliament and a discussion on the package and this will be strongly resisted, he added.

"I think the government is deliberately sidelining Parliament. A meeting of the Parliamentary Committee should at least be held to discuss the fiscal stimulus package," he said.

While responding to a question of ETV Bharat on Government's decision of opening up defence, airspace and aerospace sectors to the foreign companies, Chidambaram said, "These are grandeur announcements by an opportunistic government which is taking a shelter under the factor that there is no Parliament sittings, no committee meeting, and no stakeholder consultation. Privatisation of the PSUs cannot be done overnight. This is not the time of grand clearance sale of PSUs to your favorites friends in the private sector."

(With Inputs from PTI)