FinMin to assess impact of coronavirus outbreak on trade

The Finance Ministry will hold a meeting on Tuesday to assess the impact of coronavirus outbreak and any disruptions posed by it to the country's trade or Make in India initiative. "On the impact of #CoronavirusOutbreak and any disruptions to #MakeinIndia or to Indian export/import @FinMinIndia is scheduled to hold a meeting on Tuesday 18 Feb. Stakeholders welcome. If unable to attend please email your inputs at fmo@nic.in," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted on Sunday.

India is one of China's leading trade partners in Asia and has a huge trade deficit with that country. The death toll from China's coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic climbed to 1,665 on Saturday after 142 more people died, mostly in the worst-hit Hubei Province, and the confirmed cases jumped to 68,500.

Coronavirus outbreak in China provides an opportunity for India to expand exports, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian had said last week.