Friday, May 15, 2020

Self-reliant India, as New Economic Model

Economist S Gurumuthy's analysis of Indian economy is always different and fascinating on many counts. In a recent Interview to a English magazine, he said:

"The illiterate economic thinkers and institutions in India, whose training is based on foreign ideas and theories, have not been able to come to terms with the diversity of India. The financial model applicable to listed companies is being thrust on the rest of the economy. The swadeshi approach calls for factoring in the diversities of India. Actually, jobs are provided only by the MSMEs which are the backbone of the economy. This was understood only after Modi constituted the Mudra finance plan. So jobs will be generated only through bottom upwards and top-down economic model which will suit only the cosmopolitan kind of society."

and on internal migration issues:

"This problem is there, but it is blown out of proportion. Let us look at the facts. There are 31 crore intra and interstate migrants in India according to 2011 census. Out of that 4.2 crores are interstate migrants. How many out of that are going back? Not even 10%. When you are planning a lockdown you cannot give two days or even ten days time for people to move. That would have led to chaos and stampede. Particularly when they did not know how long it would take to flatten the curve. So the migrant issue is a creation of the media and the opposition."

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