A slowdown foretold

Watchdogs of the economy have not been barking; it is high time we noticed it

Even the woman on the street unlearned in economics knows that the current economic downturn is due to sluggish private investment. She could even blame the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for not cutting the interest rate sufficiently or quickly to let loose animal spirits of investors. She might add government policies do not encourage enterprises. Many pundits would wholly agree with her.
 
This is lazy analysis. In 2005 the repo rate was six per cent, the same as now, and doing business was tougher than now. Yet, as P Chidambaram never tires of saying, India was booming, with