Capacity building, job creation in organised sector only way to bridge inequity in India: CEA Subramanian

Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, said India is the only country to do structural reforms in the midst of a pandemic.

"Over the last 2-2.5 years the kind of reforms that we have brought in and amidst the COVID pandemic India is the only country that has done these kind of structural reforms. We do need to allow some of these reforms to actually be taken to their logical conclusions. Right now my emphasis is on ensuring that the huge amount of reforms that we have bitten is completely chewed through and then the next set of reforms are brought in."

According to Subramanian, capacity building and job creation in organised sector are the only ways to bridge inequity in India.

"If you look at the chapter on the bare necessities that was covered in this year's economic survey, clearly the sections that are less privileged their access to bare necessities like clean water, better sanitation etc has improved significantly compared to the more privileged people."

"So at the macroeconomic level focus on growth, so that we generate the resources that we can then use for efficient welfare. Also legislation is not going to achieve equity among the less privileged and the more privileged, it has to be capacity building, more job creation especially in the organised sector through manufacturing growth etc."

Subramanian said India needs to focus on judicial reforms and on enhancing state capacity. He said out of 190 countries India ranks 160th in judicial reforms.

"The next set of reforms would have to be in enhancing state capacity more broadly and specifically I would point out judicial reforms, that is one area where out of 190 countries we still languish around 160 and this is something that we really need for our economy to start benefitting further."