The economy needs a strong dose of Keynesian style pump priming. The fiscal deficit target can be given a miss for now
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” — William Shakespeare.
This is the best of times. This is the worst of times. That was how Charles Dickens described France before the Revolution. This can as well apply to India today. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Growth is falling. Our GDP grew from $1.32 trillion in 2009 to $2.74 trillion in 2019 in nominal terms, a compounded average growth of 7.5 per cent, it has now fallen to 5.8 per cent in Q4 of FY19.
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If we aim at becoming a $5-trillion economy in five years, our GDP will have to grow at 12.5 per cent. We have had our successes. ‘One Nation One Tax’ was successfully implemented. Fiscal deficit has been contained from 3.9 per cent in 2016 to 3.4 per cent. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has been brought on the statute.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
