First, let there be investment | The Indian Express

First, let there be investment | The Indian Express

Written by Rama Bijapurkar |Updated: July 12, 2019 1:20:39 am

Bijapurkar is the author of We Are Like That Only and A Never-before World: Tracking the evolution of Consumer India.

First, let there be investment

Budget does well to focus on investment and infrastructure rather than propping up consumption to boost the economy.

There are few takers for the notion, despite data, that for most of consumer India, unless incomes grow there is no way consumption can or should grow. (Illustration by Suvajit Dey)

The 2019 Economic Survey’s focus on investment as a key driver of economic growth is very welcome. It changes the alarming paradigm that business and media have been working with — since investment is not happening, in order to bolster slowing economic growth the focus of policymaking should shift to boosting consumption, with cash transfers, reduced excise duties, decreased interest rates on retail loans and so on. Why investment has slowed down and how to revive it has not received even a fraction of the public attention that consumption has.