India on track to emerge as $5 trillion economy: Doval

Director of India Foundation Shaurya Doval said on Tuesday that it is natural for a robust economy like India to go through upheavals while expanding from three trillion dollars to five trillion dollars in the next five years.

"India became a one trillion dollar economy in 2007. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inherited a two trillion dollar economy in 2014, and he is promising to take this from three trillion dollars now to five trillion dollars in the next five years," he told ANI.

Doval, a BJP member and son of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, appreciated the government's mega-merger plan to amalgamate 10 public sector banks into four formidable entities in a bid to kickstart the investment cycle.

 

"The Indian financial system is rather archaic and not in tune with the challenges that we will face in the 21st century. So we have to revisit our architecture," said Doval.

However, he rubbished the opposition's on-going rendition on Indian economy. "I think the whole narrative on the economy by opposition parties reflects a very high degree of immaturity. It is a very novice way of approaching the discussion."

Doval appreciated the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) recent decision to transfer of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the government. This sum will comprise of Rs 1.23 lakh crore of surplus for the year 2018-19 and Rs 52,637 crore of excess provisions identified as per the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF) adopted at the RBI's board meeting.

"It is India's money. Rather than letting it lie in a coffer, the government will use it to infuse liquidity into the system," he said.

Doval, however, said jobless growth in the country is a serious challenge. "While we are continuing to grow, we are not able to create the number of jobs we need to sustain. Hence the focus should be on entrepreneurship. This is a possible solution."

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