Forum that facilitates cohesive thinking on economy, also has ears of political leadership, is urgently needed | The Indian Express

Forum that facilitates cohesive thinking on economy, also has ears of political leadership, is urgently needed | The Indian Express

Written by Vikram S Mehta |Updated: September 2, 2019 9:36:54 am

The writer is the chairman of Brookings India and senior fellow, Brookings Institution.

Forum that facilitates cohesive thinking on economy, also has ears of political leadership, is urgently needed

Our administrative apparatus is vertically structured within silo-ed compartments. There is no forum to enable and facilitate interdisciplinary, interdepartmental and collaborative economic decision-making.

Our administrative apparatus is vertically structured within siloed compartments.

Over the past few weeks, there has been much commentary on the economic slowdown. Whether the cause is structural or cyclical; whether the government should inject liquidity or allow the private corporate sector to stew in its woes. This division of views is unsurprising. After all, it is a commonplace barb that three economists in a room will eventually present four different views. What is worrisome is that this division appears to cut across the political and administrative apparatus of the government. The vice chairman of the Niti Aayog has stated that the economy faces an unprecedented liquidity situation: “Not in the past 70 years has the financial sector been in such a churn (where) nobody trusts anybody else.” The Chief Economic Adviser appears somewhat more sanguine: “Some sectors are doing well — the government does not need a fiscal stimulus”. The Minister of Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has criticised the Niti Aayog for announcing a ban on petrol and diesel vehicles. He said that the Aayog was but a think tank with no executive authority, and that such decisions were for him to take.