Chorus for economic stimulus package is rising in India as the country expands lockdown to fight novel coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus outbreak has brought gloom in the businesses. Stock market crashes are only reflecting the business sentiment in the country and the world.

Revenue loss across businesses is going to complicate already stressed economic situation in India. Demand for immediate intervention by the Narendra Modi governemnt and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is growing with every new tweet.

Many countries including big economies such as the US, Japan, Germany and France have announced big stimulus packages. The US is planning a cash handout scheme. Some other countries too are mulling to infuse money into their markets to bounce back from the coronavirus shock.

In the US, there are talks about introducing a $1,000 dollar direct cash transfer to its citizens as this is an amount considered to be average weekly income in the country.

There have been talks of a similar direct cash transfer scheme in India for quite some time. First concrete proposal came in 2017 in the Economic Survey wherein then Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian argued for Universal Basic Income (UBI) for every citizen. The report proposed for a monthly UBI -- after scrapping all existing subsidies -- of Rs 7620. This was aimed to giving money in people's hand to sustain consumption and thereby economic growth.

Another proposal came from the Congress during the Lok Sabha election in 2019 when Rahul Gandhi promised Rs 7,200 to every citizen under a scheme called Nyay or the Nyuntam Aay Yojana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead announced a PM Kisan scheme of Rs 6,000 per year to small farmers. The overall cost of this scheme was estimated at Rs 75,000 crore.

But the clamour for bigger cash handouts scheme and a separate stimulus package for industry has grown as novel coronavirus pandemic hit India in the middle of an extended economic slowdown.

There is speculation that novel coronavirus may bring down India's GDP growth rate by one percentage point during 2020-21. India is already fearing a sub-five per cent GDP growth rate in 2019-20.

Unemployment rate is likely to breach all previous records due to lockdowns in the wake of novel coronavirus outbreak. Temporary events such as demonetisation and single-phase rollout of GST (goods and services tax) have in recent past seen sudden but lasting impact on Indian businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises which have a huge share in employment generation.

The lockdowns are bound to throw thousands out of jobs. This will further impact consumption and prolong already extended economic downturn. Like coronavirus spread, the downward spiral wave of economic slowdown also needs to be broken.

This can happen with governmnet intervention. Thankfully, the government is likely to earn more money and save dollar on crude oil import due to sharp fall in prices. This money can be used to fund India's economic revival.

Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, while expressing solidarity with the Modi government in fight against Covid-19, appealed for an economic stimulus. Social medial influencers too have been tagging PM Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with their demands for economic boosters.

In his last week address to the nation, PM Modi hinted at setting up a Covid-19 economic taskforce to suggest measures after taking views of all the stakeholders of Indian economy. This indicates that an announcement could be around the corner. Till now, the government has been looking at greater involvement of private players but the coronavirus situation may require a meatier intervention by the government.

And, India will not be a solitary example of overspending by the government. Germany has announced an 822 billion euro stimulus package to cope with coronavirus impact on its economy. It is taking 150 billion euro as fresh debt to reboot its economy. The UK has rolled out a $384 billion rescue package.

Iran has sought loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first time since 1962 to recover from coronavirus shock. France, Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, the US and a host of other countries have announced tax cuts and stimulus packages.

It is time India took this call sooner than later. A universal basic income could be just a starting point for the Modi government. At least four MPs, including three from the BJP, have recently emphasised bringing a law to ensure money for jobless in India.