The Big picture : Need for Economic Reforms

The government’s economic reforms agenda in response to the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to raise India’s medium-term growth rate. Ratings agencies expect the Centre to announce more reforms measures over the next few years, and hope state governments will follow suit. Fitch Ratings recently said several initiatives, such as the agricultural reforms to offer farmers more flexibility to sell their produce, labour reforms to improve access to social security, passed by Parliament amid the covid crisis may lift prospects of medium-term growth. Meanwhile, amid the farmers’ protest, the chief economic advisor on Tuesday said that the country’s new farm reforms are designed to benefit the majority of the agricultural sector. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too assured the industry that momentum of economic reforms will continue to make India a hotspot of global investment. India has turned the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to push the economic reforms, which remained pending for decades, she said while addressing the National MNC’s Conference 2020 organised by industry chamber CII.

ANCHOR : FRANK RAUSAN PEREIRA

PRODUCER : SAGHEER AHMAD

GUEST

1) Dr. Arvind Virmani, Chairman, EGROW Foundation & Former Chief Economic Advisor

2) Gurcharan Das, Bestselling Author & Economist