Needed: A white paper on the Indian economy

Economic sentiment is as important as the actual data on the economy

The Indian economy is going through a phase in which it is difficult to spot a piece of good news. Economic growth is slowing. Exports continue to decline. Retail inflation is on the rise. Jobs are not growing. Bank credit growth has decelerated. Electricity use has dropped. Tax revenues are growing at a slow pace — much less than what the Budget had projected, making the government’s target for fiscal deficit in the current year unachievable.

The sentiment, a key factor in an economy, is also on a downswing. Of course, a few steps have been taken by the government in