Need to be cautious about slipping into permit Raj: Kaushik Basu

With a record capital outflow of $16 bn in March, the biggest in a month, India must be careful about the future, he said

While endorsing India’s policy on tackling Covid-19, Kaushik Basu, former chief economist of The World Bank cautioned against slipping into the regime of Licence Raj.

“The licence permit raj in India was slow evolution. The year 1991 saw the biggest economic reform, which transformed the landscape of the economy. Right now, there is a risk (of going back to permit era). But I understand the awareness has come among policy makers, and we will not make that mistake. We must not become a system where you need to take permission for everything. We need to quickly unwind, creating space, so that