'The Economy Needs God's Help. Serious Issues With Private Consumption, Jobs, MSMEs' https://thewire.in/economy/watch-the-economy-needs-gods-help-serious-issues-with-private-consumption-jobs-msmes The Wire 2/12/2021
Full interview on One Youtube: https://youtu.be/yDRwumayNvw
India’s former Chief Statistician, Pronab Sen said it’s “a V-shaped recovery for India but for Bharat, which is 70-80% of the population, it’s a K”.
Sen's key concerns were private consumption, which accounts for 55% of the economy, but is still 3.5% below pre-pandemic levels, and MSMEs, which contribute 30% of the GDP and 80-85% of employment. Both private consumption and MSMEs are struggling.
He suggested that banks can opt for specific allocated lending to MSMEs, similar to what was done last year. Second, he suggested that the government should boost private consumption through “direct transfers” for years, and not just for weeks and months.
He said the only tool in the government’s hands is to boost public investment, which it’s doing but needs to do a lot more.
In addition, there are political issues concerning differences between the Union and the state governments that must also be tackled.