No reports of medicine shortage in wake of coronavirus outbreak: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday (February 18) said there are no reports of shortage of medicines or medical equipment in the country, adding the government will soon announce measures to deal with the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic industry.

Rather, she said, the pharma industry has been asking for lifting the ban on exports of certain items. However, there could be some disruptions in supplies and concerns have been expressed by the representative of pharma, solar and chemical industries, said the Union finance minister.

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Sitharaman was addressing reporters after meeting representatives of the industry to review the situation following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus epidemic in China. She added it is too early to talk about the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

The finance minister said she would hold a meeting with the secretaries of different ministries on Wednesday and then announce steps to deal with the situation in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office. “There are no concerns about price rise so far due to Coronavirus,” she added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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