new delhi having successfully managed the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic india is well prepared to combat the scourge of the second wave the finance ministrys monthly economic report saidthe report further said highfrequency data indicates that india is on the path to become better and strongercoronavirus live updatesafter battling a historic pandemic in fy 202021 the indian economy is poised to build back better and stronger as is reflected in the movement of several highfrequency indicatorsinstrumental in this resilient comeback will be a strong revival in investment growth supported by the atmanirbharbharat mission and a massive boost to infrastructure and capital expenditure provided for in the union budget 202122 the report saidthe rise in daily new cases since mid february marks the onset of second wave of covid19 infection in india the report said adding the country has however been able to delay the onset of the second wave the gap between the first peak to start of the second wave has been 151 days in india while it was much lower in other countriesat this juncture of the onset of the second wave the report said india is well prepared to combat the scourge of the virusthe wheels of indias capex cycle have been set into motion signs of which are imminent in the second half of the year as the vaccination drive continuously upscales in india and guided by the learnings of indias successful management of pandemic during its first wave india is now well armed to combat any downside risk posed by the recent surge in covid19 cases the report saidwith the end of a challenging 202021 the crest of a brighter and selfreliant 202122 awaits india the finance ministry report said the fiscal position of the centre has witnessed improvement in the recent months due to a revival in the economic activities it said during april 2020 to february 2021 the centres fiscal deficit stood at rs 1405 lakh crore which is 76 per cent of revised estimate 202021 net tax revenue of the central government for 202021 is set to overshoot the re despite 41 per cent higher income tax refunds this year it said to share the revenue buoyancy seen in q4 202021 and in the true spirit of fiscal federalism an amount of rs 45000 crore has been released as additional devolution to states in 202021 an increase of 82 per cent over re it said the centre raised rs 137 lakh crore as gross market borrowings during 202021 at a weighted average borrowing cost of 579 per cent the lowest in 17 years it said the governments capital expenditure sharply turned around to grow at 1044 per cent during october 2020 to february 2021 yoy recovering from a decline of 116 per cent in the first half of 202021 yoy it said