The finance ministry has started holding meetings to prioritise expenditure plans for the next three months and assess regulatory relaxations, as the country is hit by a storm of coronavirus cases that have overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. 

The government may decide to cap its expenditure in some non-priority sector and double up spending on vaccines, building oxygen plants, healthcare facilities and social infrastructure, a senior official told ET Now

“We had recently removed spending caps, but given the situation we may have to re-prioritise spending,” the official, who did not want to be named, said. 

The second wave of coronavirus where daily caseload have risen by over 300,000 for over a week, has pushed the country into a deep crisis and exposed the fragility of its health infrastructure. 

In April. people have not only died due to the more deadly Indian variant of the virus but also due to shortage of oxygen and beds in hospitals. 

The government is looking at ramping up plants of oxygen by giving higher allocation to states towards building such facilities. The government is also mulling easing bankruptcy rules for the next three month like it did last year, officials said. 

The official said that country’s major industrial belts have been hit by the second wave and we want to ease regulatory and repayment pressure for such individuals and companies.