Indian economy has recorded its deepest contraction in the first quarter of 2020-21 financial year. The economy had contracted by 24 per cent during the said period. Almost all the sectors, including construction, tourism, mining, manufacturing, etc. had shown huge negative growth. Some experts feel that as the figures are related to lockdown months i.e. April, May and June, such a contraction of the economy was not unexpected. In support of their argument, they are producing the growth figures of other nations in the same period. But there are others, who are of the opinion that the disease, the Indian economy is suffering from is far more deep-rooted than what meets the eye. According to them, contraction is not the result of lockdown alone. Country’s economy started showing a downward trend much before the pandemic started. The economic slump is the result of the government’s mismanagement of the economy, they argue.
While both sides are presenting points and counterpoints, a close look at the Indian economy will prove that utter neglect towards the inherent strength of our economy has brought the country to such a situation. In the name of globalisation, we started imitating countries where nature is not as generous as it is towards India. We never tried to engage our huge manpower in a proper way so that it could strengthen the economy. We never valued the contribution of the unorganised sector towards the economy, though it contributes nearly half of India’s GDP. Rather we concentrated more on the service sector, industrialisation, etc., forgetting those are not the strong points of Indian economy. It started a new debate on the path to be adopted by India to become an economic power. While some suggested that increased purchasing power of rural India would be a true indicator about the health of the economy, others believed that a high growth rate would ensure a trickling effect which in turn should improve the living standards in rural India to strengthen Indian economy.
As both sides failed to come to a meeting point, we have not seen a synthesis of these two views, which could be beneficial for the country’s economy. Beyond a doubt, we cannot close our eyes to the latest developments that are taking place in the field of science and technology. If we are really interested in going forward, we should try to be benefitted from these advancements. But at the same time, we cannot ignore agriculture, which is the foundation of Indian economy. An indication of what agriculture can do to Indian economy was evident from the fact even in this hour of crisis, the said sector has registered a growth of 3.1 per cent. It’s a pity that we have often neglected agriculture and favoured industrialisation acquiring cultivable land. The best example of this flawed strategy is West Bengal where 1000 acres of cultivable land was given to a business house for car manufacturing. In wake of unprecedented protest, the business house was forced to make a retreat, but not before leaving the land barren forever. Thus the figures during the lockdown period are urging us to go back to our strength rather than adopting a new model which can only offer limited success.