Rahul Gandhi in conversation with Nobel Prize winner Abhijit Banerjee on COVID 19 & its economic impact, Episode - 3

 06 May 2020 ( News Bureau )

Dr. Banerjee: That is why people like us say that incentive packages should be given. This is what America is doing, this is what Japan and Europe are doing. We have not decided anything yet. We are still only talking about 1% of GDP. The US has given a package equivalent to 10% of GDP. I think we can do it easily for the MSME sector, and it would be right that we can stop debt collection for some time. We can do more than this. We can also say that the repayment of debt for this quarter has been canceled and the government will pay it. So you can do more than this. Instead of just repaying the loan back and forth, it would be right to forgive it. But even further it is not clear whether it is right to target only MSMEs? The need is to increase demand. People should have money in their hands so that they can shop, go to stores, buy consumer goods. MSMEs have many products that people buy, but they are not buying. If they have money and you promise to give money then it is possible. Money is not there. If you are in the red zone, or wherever the lockdown is being removed, then you can spend if you have 10,000 rupees in your account. Spending is the easiest way to revive the economy. Because this will bring money in the hands of MSMEs, they will also spend, and thus a chain will be formed.

Rahul Gandhi: That is, we are talking about NYAY scheme in a way i.e. direct cash transfer that reaches people directly.

Dr. Banerjee: Absolutely. This should be debated only for the poor. I am saying a big thing ... I believe that targeting will be the most important. You are setting a goal in the middle of a mess. There will also be people whose shop is closed for 6 weeks and has become poor. I do not know how such people will be identified. I would say that the lower 60 per cent of the population should be given money as a target, nothing bad will happen. We will give them money, they need, they will spend, it will have an effective effect. I want some more aggression in this than you, I want money to be given to people even beyond the poor.

Rahul Gandhi: So you are talking about mass grouping of people directly. That is, demand should increase as quickly as possible.

Dr. Banerjee: Absolutely. This is what I am saying. Before the crisis, I am saying that the problem of demand is before us. And now it has become a bigger problem because it is extraordinary. I do not have money, I will not buy because my shop is closed. And my shop is closed, so I will not buy anything from you.

Rahul Gandhi: I think you are saying that whatever needs to be done, it needs to be done fast. The sooner you do it, the more effective it will be. That is, what is going on every second is increasing the loss.

Dr. Banerjee: You are absolutely right. I don't want to see everyone's qualifications before we help whether they are eligible or not. I believe that we will create a mismatch chain of supply and demand, because we gave the money but the retail sector is closed due to being in the red zone. So we have to think better that when you go out for shopping, then only you will get money and not in advance. Or the government should promise that you will not be disturbed, you will get money and there will be no chance of dying of starvation, so that you can have some savings. If people are assured that there will be money in their hands for two months or as long as there is a lockdown, then they will not bother and will want to spend. Some of these will have their own savings. Therefore, it is also not right to hurry, because there is no supply. Even if you give money, it will be useless, inflation will increase separately. With this request, yes a quick decision has to be made.

Rahul Gandhi: That is, the sooner you come out of the lockdown, the better. A strategy will be required for this, some economic activities will have to be started for this. Otherwise money will prove to be useless.

Dr. Banerjee: How soon to get out of lockdown depends on the disease. If a lot of people are getting sick, how will the lockdown end? You are right that we have to control the pace of disease and keep an eye on it.

 

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