AIIB's Erik Berglöf on recovery in a post-Covid world

Q1: Welcome Dr Berglöf. We will like to know from you – the report has talked about hinterland development. But in these hinterlands, the market is absent. So, is it viable to put up manufacturing units in the remote areas?
Ans:
>I ndian hinterlands need not have to be the way they are today
> China has also struggled with hinterland development for decades
> Railway to Europe helped Chinese hinterlands to participate in global value chain
 

Q2: Do you think India has lessons to learn from China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh – the primary Asian economies that have done well on economic recovery and also in terms of export?
Ans:
> Developing countries increased their presence in global value chain in the last 10 years
> Global value chain has increasingly become fragmented
> Bangladesh moved up its garment and textile industry closer to final product
> Global value chains are increasingly shifting away from manufacturing towards services and information flows


Q3: How important it is for India to have hinterland development, especially because of the experience which the companies as well as the government saw during lockdown last year when huge number of migrant labours travelled back to their villages.
Ans:
> Infrastructure is important to create opportunities closer to where people live
> Infrastructure is necessary but not the only tool to create opportunities 
> Need facilities for education, training, health care for people to live closer to where they work
 

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