Eight suggestions from Abhijit Banerjee to revive the Covid-19-hit economy
Abhijit Banerjee pointed out several measures, including giving temporary ration cards, a bigger stimulus package and providing cash to India's poorest 60% to revive the Covid-19-hit economy
Sukanya Roy New Delhi
 "Abhijit Banerjee")
In a conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Abhijit Banerjee pointed out several measures, including giving temporary ration cards, a bigger stimulus package and providing cash to India’s poorest 60% to revive the Covid-19-hit economy.
Abhijit Banerjee, co-recipient of the Nobel for economics in 2019, said that the national lockdown had indeed played havoc with the economy and suggested that an Aadhar based PDS system should be implemented for poor.
"I think nationalisation of the Aadhaar would have been great now, especially for migrants. They could have gone to a PDS store in Mumbai and demanded ration. But right now they cannot do that.."
2. He said India should waive off loan repayments for small businesses in the June quarter to steer the economy out of the pandemic-induced crisis.
"Government did a right thing in putting a moratorium on debt payments and that it can do more than that by cancelling debt payments for this quarter altogether."
3. The Nobel laureate also said that the government is not clear how much it is willing to spend on a stimulus package as 1 per cent of GDP is not enough to lift the country out of the situation.
"A lot of us have been saying that we need a stimulus package. That’s what the US is doing, Japan is doing, Europe is doing. We really haven’t decided on a large enough stimulus package. We are still talking about 1% of GDP. United States has gone for 10% of GDP, "
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Topics :Abhijit BanerjeeCoronavirusLockdownIndian EconomyRahul Gandhiration cardsAadhaar link with ration cardsIndia's PDS systemGDP
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First Published: May 05 2020 | 9:24 PM IST
