Indian PM Narendra Modi announces $260 billion coronavirus rescue package

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a $260 billion coronavirus rescue package for the country.

He didn't share many details during his televised address, but did say the package would help everyone from migrant laborers to farmers. Modi also called on people to purchase items made in India and open their own manufacturing facilities, saying, "Be vocal about local. Who can stop us from becoming a self-reliant India?"

Arvind Subramanian, a former economic adviser to the Indian government, told The New York Times the package was larger than expected, but still "overdue as the economic impact on India is going to be quite severe." India doesn't have any other options, Subramanian said, because "the counterfactual will be much more hardship and a greater hit to the economy."

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The country, home to 1.3 billion people, went on lockdown in late March, with the strict order shutting down everything from parks to airports. Millions of poor laborers are now unemployed and leaving cities to live with their families in rural areas, as some sectors of the economy, including agriculture, are slowly reopening. There are 70,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in India, with 2,300 deaths.