The Indian government has announced it will pump an extra US$4 billion into the country’s economy to combat sliding growth rates caused by the global economic meltdown. This brings the total value of India’s stimulus package to US$60 billion.
The package, intended to prevent the export, real estate, textiles, infrastructure and small business sectors from collapsing, has been criticized by business leaders as being too small.
India’s economic growth rate has fallen from 9.3% in the third quarter to 7.6% in the last quarter, leading to calls for aggressive public spending and a stronger fiscal package. “The fiscal package is pointing in the right direction, but [more could be done] to increase the growth trajectory,” Amit Mitra, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement.
