Prof Arvind Subramanian shared his thoughts on Indian Economic Policymaking post-Covid19, during a PIC Conversation chaired by Dr Rathin Roy, former Director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).He spoke on the global context, the Indian scenario and the financial system and how the pandemic has led to an unprecedented economic shock worldwide with widespread unemployment and loss of safety nets. He discussed at length the deployment monetary and fiscal policies to counter this shock.
Prof. Subramanian made an important distinction between countries where the pandemic appears under control and others where it doesn’t and what the long term outlooks for economic growth appears to be. He also discussed the complications that will arise from exiting a national lockdown when the pandemic is not fully under control. He specifically stressed on the issues arising from the migrant crisis which has led to a massive disruption in the labour market. Dr Subramanian also discussed the option of whether India should turn inward again or maintain outward looking growth and the importance of rebuilding trust.
