Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan has said that he believes the country will be lucky if it achieves 5 per cent growth next year. The former governor also said that the next year is going to be even more difficult. Rajan, who joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on Wednesday, said policies should be framed keeping in mind the lower middle class, who are suffering the most due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said, “Of course, it had a lot of difficulties with the war and everything else. Growth is slowing down in the world. People are raising interest rates which bring growth down.”
The Economist said, “It’s a big problem. It’s not about industries.” Epidemic. This divide has increased during the pandemic. The poorest can get ration. They get everything. These rich did not face any difficulty. The people in the middle – the lower middle class – had a lot to lose. He lost his job. Unemployment went up. The debt kept increasing. We should see them. Because he has suffered a lot.”
Talking to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the former Governor of Reserve Bank of India said, “India is also going to be affected. India’s interest rates have also gone up, but Indian exports have slowed down significantly. The problem of inflation is more in India. About the problem of inflation of commodities, the problem of inflation of vegetables. That would also be negative for growth.”
The economist said, “I think we’ll be lucky if we do 5 percent next year.” The problem with growth numbers is that you have to understand what you’re measuring in relation to, he said. “We had a terrible quarter last year. And, you measure against that you look pretty good. So ideally what you do is look at 2019 before the pandemic and look now.” He said, “If you look at 2022 compared to 2019, it is about 2 per cent annually. It is very less for us.”
He said, “The pandemic was part of the problem but we were slow before the pandemic. We went from 9 to 5. And, we haven’t really done the reforms that will generate growth.” Rahul Gandhi had openly asked him in a conversation, “One thing is happening, 4-5 people are getting rich and they can do any business and the rest are left behind. The farmer, the poor have made a new India.” .” The dreams of these 4-5 people get fulfilled, the dreams of the rest get dashed. What should we do with this inequality?