Global Economy & Development
India eliminates extreme poverty
Content from the Brookings Institution India Center is now archived. After seven years of an impactful partnership, as of September 11, 2020, Brookings India is now the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, an independent public policy institution based in India.
We are hosting the next development seminar on Moving India to a New Growth Trajectory with Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Distinguished Fellow, Brookings India and Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs at Yale University.
Abstract: Mohan’s paper titled Moving India To A New Growth Trajectory: Need For A Comprehensive Big Push discusses the need to focus attention on the primacy of growth as a policy objective. As the achievement of annual economic growth of about 7% has almost become commonplace, the country is now in danger of suffering from a degree of complacency. If India is to eliminate poverty and achieve upper middle-income status in the foreseeable future, by around 2035, it must elevate its growth trajectory to the next level. This paper analyses the key macroeconomic tasks ahead to take growth back to 8-9%: sustained increase in savings and investment, fiscal consolidation through enhanced tax revenues, and a step up in infrastructure investment. It also highlights the need to revive animal spirits in the private sector to rekindle investment, particularly in an internationally competitive manufacturing sector.
Bio: Rakesh Mohan has been among India’s senior-most economic policymakers and an expert on central banking, monetary policy, infrastructure and urban affairs. Most recently, he was executive director at the International Monetary Fund, and chairman, National Transport Development Policy Committee. He is also a former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Mohan has written extensively on urban economics, urban development, Indian economic policy reforms, monetary policy and central banking.
Discussants:
- Ajit Ranade serves as the President and Chief Economist of the Aditya Birla Group. His professional career has spanned academic and corporate assignments. Dr. Ranade holds PhD in Economics from Brown University, U.S.A.
- T N. Ninan is the Chairman of Business Standard Ltd. He has brought a new liveliness to business journalism in India during a quarter century of leadership at major publication houses. Mr. Ninan received his MA in Economics from University of Madras.
