New Delhi: The Union Government is expected to announce economic package shortly, bailout by sectors hugely affected by Covid- 19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation had announced the formation of a special task force headed by finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman. The Covid-19 Economic Response Task Force, he said, would take an overview of the situation and suggest the way ahead.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman has already declared that the donations made towards fighting Covid-19 would be counted as “Corporate Social Responsibility”. “In view of the spread of novel #Covid- 19 in India, as per the declaration as pandemic by the WHO, and decision of Government of India to treat this as notified disaster. In her tweet Finance Minister is hereby clarified that spending of CSR funds for COVID-19 is eligible CSR activity, #IndiaFightCorona”.

Her tweets also announced the relaxation of compliance provisions by SEBI and the Reserve Bank’s decision to conduct variable rate term repos of ₹1,00, 000 crores.

The Congress demanded a financial package on Monday in the Parliament, saying the government should have done it today. Speaker Om Birla told Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Choudhury that the matter should not be raised as there was an understanding only to pass the finance bill today. 19 States in the country, including national capital Delhi, has been placed under lockdown as the Covid- 19 figures climbed to 433 today. Seven people have died.