Modi 2.0: Can India’s re-elected PM deliver on the economy?
Al JazeeraThe prime minister will have to boost spending in his second term even as the government’s finances worsen. “Greater public investment is precisely the need of the hour; there’s no need for such ‘fiscal orthodoxy’,” R Nagaraj, an economist at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, told Al Jazeera. Nagaraj points to India’s debt to GDP ratio, which at 67 percent according to IMF data, is “one of the lowest among emerging economies” and significantly below China’s. “Manufacturers will need to reclaim the domestic market,” suggests Nagaraj, adding that this will help India become a less import-dependent economy while supporting the sector’s growth. “Our version of the Lehman Brothers collapse is happening right now and should be the government’s most pressing concern,” says Mukherjea, referring to the credit vacuum created by the fall of IL&FS.