Invest India estimated the country needed 38 million masks – 14 million needed by state governments and the rest by the federal government – and 6.2 million pieces of protective gear

People can visit www.pmindia.gov.in to make contributions using credit and debit cards, UPI, net banking and RTGS or NEFT, it said.

The three-month moratorium on payments of term loan instalments (EMI) and interest on working capital give much-desired relief, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman .

“Just as everywhere else in the world, the Indian economy is bracing for the fallout (from) this unprecedented event. We expect the lockdown to dramatically reduce GDP in … subsequent quarters, while there will be prolonged economic gloom throughout the rest of the year,” said Prakash Sakpal, Asia economist at ING.