Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Centre will soon announce steps to deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on certain sectors of Indian industry, reported Hindustan Times. Three positive coronavirus cases in India have been reported from Kerala till now, but two of the patients who tested positive have been discharged in the past week.

“The government has reviewed impact of outbreak of coronavirus on industry,” Sitharaman said at a press conference. “Based on comprehensive consultation, some measures will be announced shortly.” She added that it was too soon to talk about coronavirus’ impact on the Make in India initiative. Sitharaman said there were no concerns about the increase in prices so far.

Advertisement

Sitharaman said there was no shortage of medicines or medical equipment and that the pharmaceutical industry has been urging for the revocation of bans on the export of some items. However, she said there may be some disruptions in supplies, adding that some pharma, chemical, and solar representatives had raised concerns on the matter, reported PTI.

The finance minister was addressing the media after a meeting with industry representatives to go over the situation. She said that a meeting would be held with secretaries of various ministries on Wednesday to deal with the situation in consultation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office.

“The government has reviewed impact of outbreak of coronavirus on industry,” Sitharaman said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “Based on comprehensive consultation, some measures will be announced shortly.”

India has been screening passengers arriving from China at several airports. On Monday, the first batch of Indians were released after being rescued from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, and quarantined at a facility of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in Delhi. The remaining are expected to be released on Tuesday.