MUMBAI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday signaled new Covid-era style policy support to cushion the impact of the Middle East conflict, while urging Indian industry to step up investment and replace imports with domestic manufacturing.At the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence, Sitharaman said the government is working on support measures for sectors hit by supply disruptions and rising input costs due to the West Asia conflict.“Discussions are also underway to extend support similar to that given during Covid under the Emergency Liquidity Credit Guarantee Scheme, which is in place for most units that are affected by disruptions in raw material supplies, rising prices and insurance risks,” he said.On FDI, the FM acknowledged some weakness in recent outflows and inflows, arguing that investment decisions are not driven solely by economic indicators but are also driven by “other considerations” including global and strategic factors, even though India is the fastest growing major economy with stable indicators. On changes to capital gains tax and securities transaction tax demanded by some businesses, Sitharaman said strong inflows were recorded even when both the taxes were in place and stressed that she was “neither saying yes nor no”, indicating that it was under review.‘Will ensure availability of fertilizers and energy even at the cost of fiscal pressure’The Union Finance Minister said that the government, keeping in mind its pandemic strategy, will give priority to ensuring availability of critical inputs like energy and fertilizers even at the cost of fiscal pressures.“Even when fertilizer prices increased abroad, we bought them at those prices and ensured that there was no disruption in supply. Above all, the price was not passed on to the farmers. The farmers had to pay the same price,” Sitharaman said, hinting at a similar approach if the current crisis deepens.On energy security, Sitharaman reiterated that India will continue to source crude oil practicable to protect domestic needs. He said, “Whatever suits India’s interest will be our top priority. Wherever it is available, where it is cheap, and wherever it can be supplied in time to meet our requirements, we will get it from there.”The minister stressed that the policy approach would not involve a trade-off between growth, inflation and stability. “We have to work together on all three while remaining constantly alert and vigilant to changes,” Seethraman said, pointing to emerging risks including cyber threats to financial systems. At the same time, the Finance Minister made it clear that government support must be matched by strong action by industry, especially in promoting domestic manufacturing and reducing import dependence. “India’s domestic market still requires many items to be manufactured within the country. Every import presents an opportunity for domestic manufacturing,” the Union Minister said.Terming import substitution as a business opportunity rather than a policy mandate, Sitharaman said: “Why should we import when industries in India can produce these goods? Wouldn’t you want to produce for Indian consumers? It’s a huge market.”The minister also called for greater proactivity and investment from corporates, including in new technologies.