Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has assured full support to the industry amid the resurgence of the Covid 19 pandemic. She also asked the industry to wait and watch for the next few days to assess the economic impact that the second wave could bring about.

Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee Members through virtual mode, Sitharaman said that along with the new vaccination guidelines the government and state authorities have put in place a strategy which includes enhanced testing, tracking and treating.

“With all these steps, we should hope to see a positive change in the way the second wave of Covid 19 pandemic is moving. Industry is watching out and I would want you (industry) to keenly observe what is going on and we are together with the industry in (fighting) this (pandemic). I am sure all of us together will understand how best to now ramp-up and sustain the growth momentum which all of us are keen to see between the last quarter and this quarter,” Sitharaman said.

“I would request the industry to watch the next few days a bit more carefully, and then assess for yourself what this quarter is going to be like,” the Finance Minister said.

She also said that sectors like hospitality, aviation, travel, tourism and hotels faced great difficulty since the start of the pandemic. “We have extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECGLS 2.0) for these sectors and I will ensure the efficiency with which it was performing last year shall perform even for the aviation and tourism sector,” Sitharaman said.