Telangana Extends Lockdown Till April 30; KCR Seeks Rs 10.15 Lakh Crore Package to Counter Recession

Hyderabad: The Telangana cabinet on Saturday extended the lockdown in the state till April 30. "The state cabinet decided to continue the lockdown in the state till April 30.

It will be implemented in a tough manner," Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters after a cabinet meeting Rao has already favoured extending the lockdown in the country beyond April 30, saying this step is the only weapon in the country to effectively check the spread of COVID-19.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce Rs 10.15 lakh crore Quantitative Easing to counter what he called the impending recession.

Rao said that though the lockdown had crippled the economy, it needs to be extended till April 30 as the economic activity can be revived but human lives once lost cannot be revived. The Chief Minister in a letter to Modi suggested that the only way to counter the impending recession is through Quantitative Easing (QE) and the effective use of 'helicopter money'.

"Quantitative Easing proposed should be at least 5 per cent of GDP of the country. As per the Central Statistical Office, the 2019-20 GDP of India is Rs 203.85 lakh crore and QE at 5 per cent works out to Rs 10.15 lakh crore," Rao wrote. The Chief Minister said this approach was being followed by all major central banks of the world.

"All over the world, the central banks have taken very bold measures to counter the global recession which is worse than the Great Depression of 1929 and global financial crisis of 2008. Distressed times need desperate measures," he said.