India's government said on Wednesday it would offer nearly $60 billion of loan guarantees for small businesses, shadow banks and power companies to help cushion them from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the government will set up two debt and equity funds amounting to 700 billion rupees ($9.3 billion) to support stressed businesses, and will contribute to the social security funds of workers for three months.

The measures are part of a stimulus package worth 10 percent of the country's GDP to boost laborers and small businesses as the economy reels from the coronavirus pandemic and a weeks-long lockdown.

The stimulus package was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week following a weeks-long lockdown in efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The 20-trillion-rupee (266 billion U.S. dollars) relief plan for Asia's third-largest economy came as the country entered its 50th day under the world's biggest shutdown on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters the government aims to help 4.5 million businesses by October by providing credit guarantees to help them access collateral-free loans from banks.

"We have a responsibility toward the poor, the needy, the migrants and the disabled," Sitharaman said, in the first of several daily press conferences on the package.

India has reported 75,048 infections and 2,440, according to data from the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Globally, the number of infections is close to 4.3 million, with the death toll exceeding 293,000.