PM concerned over Moody's forecast on economy

Many of the economies around the world are in an unstable situation. It is feared that   continued recession in Europe and other parts of the world would be felt around the world. India can’t completely insulate its economy from the crisis in other economies because  of the integration of its economy with the rest of the world due to liberalisation and globalisation. Therefore, the reports that growth rate of the country may be below the anticipated level is not surprising. Nevertheless it has to be borne in mind that the impact of world economic crisis is not severe in our country compared to European nations. That is not to sate that we can be complacent. However, we have to move cautiously with neo-liberal economic reform. That is, there is a strong   case for India to abandon neo-liberal policies and for continuing an interventionist policy, which would insulate the country to a larger extent from external shocks.  It has to be noted that for the common people, who form the bulk of the population, growth rates have no meaning or any relevance because they are seldom benefited by higher growth rates. It is a fact that a greater proportion of the benefits of higher growth goes to only the upper strata of the society. But what is a worrisome phenomenon is the possibility of widespread drought, which will not only bring down the growth rate but also affect severely the downtrodden sections of society, especially the farmers and landless agricultural workers.  Widespread drought will affect the industrial sector also because fall in rural incomes will have a negative impact on effective demand, especially for consumer durables. Therefore, the government has to concentrate on drought relief measures by ensuring income generation activates in drought affected areas.  More over corruption and black money are the serious scourges facing India, which are acting as a road block to ensure inclusive growth and development of the country. Corruption and black money are also the root cause of growing inequality and deprivation. Huge amount has been appropriated from the people of India by exploiting and betraying them through corrupting and money laundering. If this huge amount of black money and property comes back to India, the entire foreign debt can be liquidated. And after paying the entire foreign debt, India will have huge resources to invest in development programmes and welfare measures. Dependence on FDI can be substantially reduced. If corruption is controlled, generation of black money can be controlled to a large extent. Of course, for significant dent on corruption and black money there should be change in the mind set of politicians, bureaucrats and the public.The government has  take determined efforts to root out corruption and black money, besides taking steps to  reinvigorating the economy. 

Dr.C.Murukadas, Hindustan Times, 12 Aug, 2012