Govt to push for easier credit, more duty reliefs

The UPA government’s second and final stimulus package for the current fiscal, would focus on credit availability to industry and trade at affordable rates with some policy rate adjustments by the Reserve Bank of India, sources here familiar with the development, told Business Line. They further noted that since labour-intensive export segments such as leather and leather products, marine products and textiles had suffered severely due to the drop in overseas orders that led to retrenchment of workers, the second stimulus would address these specific sectors in a bid to bolster them. Asked whether there would be any duty cuts particularly at a time when both customs and excise collections have been falling since September 2008, the sources said that there would be a possibility of duty cuts in mass consumption items such as pulses in the second stimulus.