new delhi finance minister nirmala sitharaman on monday said the fiscal measures taken by the government have resulted in positive growth of 04 per cent in the third quarter of the current financial yearthe economy is estimated to contract by 8 per cent during 202021 due to the impact of the covid19 pandemicthe fiscal measures taken by government during 202021 have been calibrated to sustain high spending in the economy and assist in its vshaped recovery resulting in a positive gdp growth of 04 per cent in third quarter of fy 202021 she said in a written reply in the lok sabhathe minister further said that the gradual unlocking of the economy has eased supplyside disruptions enabling inflation to decline from 76 per cent in october 2020 to 41 per cent in january 2021 mainly on account of decline in food inflationlower inflation has increased the real purchasing power of the people leaving more money in their hands to spend she addedsitharaman said that the money to spend has further increased under pmgky and anb packages through direct benefit and inkind food cooking gas transfers emergency credit to small businesses and wage increase for mgnrega workers among otherswith regard to lockdown the minister said the government imposed a strict 21days nationwide lockdown from march 25 2020 to contain the spread of covid19 and ramp up the health infrastructure with a view to saving livesastute management of the lockdown and subsequent unlocking along with strengthened health infrastructure was accompanied by roll out of pradhan mantri garib kalyan yojana pmgky and atmanirbhar bharat anb packages that besides saving lives also protected livelihoods and businesses these measures amounting to rs 2987 lakh crores equivalent to 15 per cent of indias gdp have boosted consumer confidence as their implementation advanced through 202021 she saidthe consumer confidence survey january 2021 of reserve bank of india shows that consumer confidence has been increasing since may 2020 in respect of future expectations and since september 2020 in respect of current expectations she addedreplying to another question sitharaman said the cabinet committee of economic affairs ccea in its meeting held on january 27 2021 has accorded inprinciple approval for 100 per cent disinvestment of government of india goi shareholding in rinl also called visakhapatnam steel plant or vizag steel along with rinls stake in its subsidiariesjoint ventures through strategic disinvestment by way of privatisationwhile deciding the terms and conditions of the strategic sale she said legitimate concerns of the existing employees and other stakeholders are suitably addressed through appropriate provisions made in the share purchase agreement spathe state government does not have any equity in rashtriya ispat nigam limited rinl however the state government is consulted in specific matters as and when needed and their support is also solicited in the matters that require their intervention she saidstrategic disinvestment of government of indias equity will lead to infusion of capital for optimum utilisation expansion of capacity infusion of technology and better management practices she added