The government should go ahead and borrow more, let the fiscal deficit be high this year. Three big priorities for the government should be addressing Covid, Infrastructure and Bank recap: Swaminathan Aiyar.
High-flying exec or housewife, it’s the same unpaid drudgery January 16, 2021, 10:52 PM IST
Bachi Karkaria s Erratica and its cheeky sign-off character, Alec Smart, have had a growing league of followers since 1994 when the column began in the Metropolis on Saturday. It now appears on the Edit Page of the Times of India, every Thursday. It takes a sly dig at whatever has inflated political/celebrity egos, and got public knickers in a twist that week. It makes you chuckle, think and marvel at the elasticity of the English language. Bachi Karkaria also writes Giving Gyan in the Mumbai Mirror, and its fellow publications in other cities. It is a shooting-from-the-lip advice column to the lovelorn and otherwise torn, telling them to stop cribbing and start living all in her her branded pithy, witty style. LESS. MORE
What is your take on the farm law episode so far? Many are of the view that the Supreme Court shouldn’t have stayed a law passed by parliament. Also, there is a question mark over committee members because they have publicly endorsed the farm laws.
I would say that the Supreme Court has no business to decide what agricultural laws we should or should not have. This is the job of the government. Governments can have different kinds of laws and not necessarily every farmer will agree. The notion that the farmers who are blockading at Delhi represent all farmers is a falsehood. The Maharashtra farmers of the Shetkari Sanghatana are dead against the Punjab-Haryana farmers as is Chengal Reddy and his federation of Indian Farmers Association who are dead against these Punjab-Haryana farmers.
Need confidence for revival in services economy, as it forms 50% of GDP
Fiscal prudence by FM means long-term scars of Covid-19 will be much less
India s economy has shown resilience in the face of the Covid crisis. Swaminathan Aiyar believes this show of strength can add even more muscle, if the vaccine rollout gets off the ground faster, both in India and across-the-world. For Swami, the real panacea for firing up growth is a quick mass vaccination drive. That, followed by a spending spree has the ability to transform India s growth numbers in 2021, he said.
This can be led by India s services sector in 2021, which he thinks should return to normalcy, much faster than in the West . Services add about 50% to India s GDP. Subsequently, he believes an efficient and swift rollout of vaccination is the key to revive growth in the services sector.
Updated Jan 01, 2021 | 13:41 IST
“With the low fiscal stimulus, debt to GDP ratio will only be ~80-82%, which is much lower and interest rates are lower, this will leave more fiscal space for the economy to expand in 2021”: Swaminathan Aiyar Representational Image | Photo Credit: PTI
Key Highlights
India may see record GDP growth of 11-12% in 2021, India doing ok on macro economic front, inflation a concern
Central government Fiscal deficit in FY21 may rise to ~8%, India needs a glide path to bring fiscal deficit lower
RBI will focus on growth and would not be in a hurry to hike interest rates in 2021, it will tolerate high inflation