The third dose of economic adrenaline delivered by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman are less energising than they appear at first blush. A special window of Rs 10,000 crore to finance housing in the sub-Rs 45 lakh category sounds promising. But then comes the condition: these projects should not have defaulted or moved for bankruptcy resolution. If a project is not a non-performing asset, it should get financing in the normal course. What additional benefit would the government-arranged alternate investment fund give such a project? The government should support projects that have turned non-performing, but are inherently viable and the idea should be to inject equity that would dilute promoter holding or even eliminate it but release the resources that are locked up in the project. That would give growth a booster shot. The current move would displace some regular lending going to housing, and release them for for non-housing projects, if there are any around that are worth lending to.
The export sops announced are welcome. But they would take time to kick in and boost exports. Sure, these sops are not pie in the sky but fall short of the food hungry mouths are gaping for at the moment. Sitharaman is moving in the right direction, but needs to go faster and pull more weight with her.
