Taking the Indian Economy Forward

The V-shaped recovery of Indian economy has not been fully realised but in all certainty it is showing signs of making an upward move by registering a GDP growth of 0.4 per cent in the third quarter (October-December), a small figure in comparison to the size of the country's economy but growth nonetheless. According to few prominent economists, growth has taken place because of the festive season, which came after a long-period of lockdown and thus, the growth can be attributed to pending demands and is not indicative of any new demands. However, even after considering the observations made by experts the figure is not insignificant at all. Firstly, it reversed the trend of negative growth in two consecutive quarters. Secondly, it showcased the resilience of the Indian economy which made a turn around without any outside assistance. It may be noted that due to the prevailing pandemic situation the volume of trade has gone down considerably and at present no country is in a position to offer any financial aid. So, India was left to fend for itself without assistance from other nations. Thirdly, the silver lining is that both the manufacturing and the service sectors have also registered growth in the said quarter. Even before the pandemic broke out, experts while talking about the economy argued that in-order to register an impressive growth rate these two sectors would have to perform much better. The last quarter indicated that improved performance by the two sectors were about to take place. Buoyed by the trend, it is now believed that the Indian economy will grow by 10-12 per cent in the next fiscal, which suggests that soon Covid-19 nightmare will be a matter of the past and the economy will be back on the rails.

 But there are differences between possibility and reality, every sector has to work hard to turn the predictions into reality. If India wants to become the fifth largest economy in the world, overtaking the United Kingdom (UK), the country will have to focus on a few key sectors to achieve the feat. Among other sectors, health and infrastructure should be given the highest priority. For sustainable economic growth, India can no longer neglect these two sectors. Covid-19 has shown how ill-equipped our healthcare facilities were to combat a pandemic situation. So, government spending on the health sector should be drastically increased and in this regard the budget proposals should be implemented in true letter and spirit. We need to ensure that in the future we will always find ourselves in a position of strength when faced with health challenges. The job of providing quality healthcare should not be left with the private sector alone. It is important to remember that the country will be back to its pre Covid-19 state only with a sound healthcare system in place. At the same time, infrastructure should be built on war-footing and roads, bridges, warehouses, etc. should be developed at strategic locations. We should aim towards a future wherein India should not find itself wanting when opportunities are available to take the economy forward.