FM Sitharaman says positive correction is happening, systemic reforms have helped Indian economy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined various economic indicators, which show the presence of a strong pitch for recovery in the economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Moneycontrol News

November 12, 2020 / 01:49 PM IST

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Indian economy is witnessing a strong recovery after a long and strict coronavirus-enforced lockdown in the country. She outlined various economic indicators, which show the presence of a strong pitch for recovery in the economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The union finance minister said that improvements have been recorded in Composite Purchase Managers Index (PMI), energy consumption, bank credit, GST collections, market capitalisation and FDI. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has predicted a strong likelihood of return to positive growth in Q3 of 2020-21, said Sitharaman in a press conference on November 12.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of FM Nirmala Sitharaman's Press Conference

Here is the complete data shared by the government indicating green signs of recovery:

> Composite PMI rose to 58.9 in October vs 54.6 last month, registering the strongest increase in output in close to nine years

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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