• Home
• /
• Business

India govt plans second stimulus plan

The announcement came after authorities announced last weekend four billion dollars in extra spending and interest rate cuts to try to shield India from the global financial crisis and the fallout from last month’s deadly attacks on Mumbai that have further shaken economic confidence.

“We have to ensure our domestic demand continues and the government will be taking all steps” to push the country back onto a nine-to-10 percent growth track, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told reporters.

“We’re again looking at something (a package) for next week,” he said.

His statement came as data showed industrial infrastructure output slowed to 3.9 percent between April and October, down from 6.6 percent a year earlier, reflecting the widening global downturn which has hit demand.

The second stimulus package would target employment creation in such sectors as export-oriented textile industry and engineering, Nath said as recruitment agency Manpower India reported a survey suggesting “considerable declines in anticipated hiring activity” by companies.

Nath also said the package would also aim to ensure companies’ financing needs were met with the global credit crunch stifling lending.