The Indonesian government plans to launch a stimulus package worth INR 73.3 trillion (approx. $6.1 billion) on March 1 in order to counteract the negative impact of the global financial crisis.
Commenting on the issue, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said "On February 25, the DPR (House of Representatives) approved the fiscal stimulus. In the next five days, all the documents related to the program will be completed."
Minister Mulyani said that, in the fiscal stimulus, infrastructure expenditure had been raised by INR 2 trillion (about $170 million), bringing the total value of the package up to INR 73.3 trillion, from the INR 71.3 trillion ($6.1 billion) proposed by the government previously.
The state expenditure stimulus part of the package consists of infrastructure expenditure worth INR 12.2 trillion ($1.02 billion) and direct subsidies and energy subsidies worth INR 4.8 trillion ($400 million), while the taxation stimulus part includes reduced tax tariffs, government-borne value added tax and import duties, and incentives related to income tax.