Former PM Manmohan Singh Lists Three Steps To Stem India’s Economic Crisis

From ensuring livelihoods are protected to making adequate capital available for businesses, here’s what the former Prime Minister advises

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has listed out a three-step solution to stem the current economic crisis and restore normalcy in an email-exchange with the BBC.

First of the three immediate steps is to “ensure people’s livelihoods are protected and they have spending power through a significant direct cash assistance”.

The second remedy according to Singh is to make available sufficient capital for businesses via “government-backed credit guarantee programmes”.

For the third step, he recommends “institutional autonomy and processes” for fixing the country’s financial sector.

Dr Singh said, “deep and prolonged economic slowdown” was “inevitable”, however, “I do not want to use words like ‘depression’ in a cavalier fashion,” he added.

“This economic slowdown is caused by a humanitarian crisis. It is important to view this from the prism of sentiments in our society than mere economic numbers and methods,” he said.

Regarding the consensus now formed among economists about an economic contraction, the ex PM said, “which if it happens, will be the first time in independent India.” He, however, hopes the consensus is wrong.

Dr Singh believes the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown announced in March was in line with what other countries were doing. He said,”perhaps a lockdown at that stage was an inevitable choice.”

Source: Business Standard

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