INDIA UNVEILS BUDGET TO REVIVE COVID-BATTERED ECONOMY

India's government on Monday unveiled a budget aimed at reviving its pandemic-battered economy, with a focus on vaccinations and doubling on health care spending.

India's economy shrank by an eye-watering 23.9 percent in the first quarter of last year and is projected to record its worst-ever annual recession – a contraction of 7.7 per cent - in the current financial year ending March 31.

"I want to confidently state that our government is fully prepared to support and facilitate the economy's reset. This budget provides every opportunity for our economy to race and capture the pace that it needs for a sustainable growth," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament.

“Now, just as it happened after the two World Wars, there are signs that the political, economic and strategic relations in the post-COVID world are changing. This moment in history is the dawn of a new era, one in which India is well-poised to truly be the land of promise and hope,” she added.

The government will allocate $30.6 billion toward health care spending, marking an increase of 137 percent, Sitharaman said. This was a big boost for India’s health sector that is often neglected with public health expenditures at just 1.3 percent of its domestic product (GDP).

A new federal scheme will be launched with an outlay of about $8.8 billion to upgrade health care infrastructure at the primary, secondary and tertiary level over the next six years.

Sitharaman also committed 4.81 billion dollars to developing vaccines as well as for the vaccination program, adding that two further Indian vaccines were likely to be announced this year.

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