New Delhi: The year 2020 was unprecedented for the Indian economy. While it was already in slowdown before the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth contracted by a sharp 23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter. The country also entered into technical recession within the next three months after the GDP contracted in the second straight quarter through September.
With the new year, there are several expectations from the government and their plans for an economic revival. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also set to present the Budget in less than a month.
We asked readers: How do you see India shaping up in terms of the economy in 2021?
Here is what some of them said:
‘Indian economy will experience turnaround in 2021’
Covid-19 took a massive hit on India’s economic fortunes, which has finally found some stability now. I strongly believe the Indian economy will experience a sharp turnaround and resume its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. A recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a resurgence in the economy and an 8.8 per cent projected growth rate in 2021. If all these statistics prove to be true, then India may even surpass China’s projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent in 2021. India fought tooth and nail against the pandemic and the data revealed in the report augurs well for the economy.
Kabir Ahuja
‘India needs a bold Budget that builds on recent reforms’
The Indian economy should be recovering back to pre-pandemic levels. With India bending the curve of Covid infections and deaths, the advent of vaccines, and businesses reopening — it looks like the worst is behind us in terms of the economy. The economy will also be aided by the pent up demand of the consumers, who were saving during the pandemic and will now shell out money on the purchases they were holding off on. While this is good news, we should be concerned that this is not good enough and the government should present a bold Budget, piggybacking on the recent reforms on agriculture and labour laws.
Vidyuth Chikoti, San Francisco. Twitter: @followvidyuth
‘Govt needs to tackle several challenges to ensure V-shaped economy’
Everyone is expecting a V-shaped recovery in the economy and as it starts showing sustained improvement, expectations for positive growth in the third quarter of 2021 are rising. Some sectors like technology and pharma are doing well but others like tourism, airlines, real estate are still struggling to survive. The Budget is the next major move that can support the economy with policies that increase spending and have a framework to control rising inflation. The government has many challenges — like unemployment, inflation, banking sector chaos, Covid vaccine hunt — that it needs to tackle to ensure economic growth.
Rachana Oza, Ahmedabad. Twitter: @RachanaOza_1
‘Some sectors still struggling and need a boost from govt’
The Covid-19 pandemic came at a time when the Indian economy was already slowing down due to weaknesses in the financial sector and falling consumer demand for goods.
Recently, the IMF said that India will regain its position as the fastest growing economy in 2021 with an impressive 8.8 per cent growth rate.
Some sectors are now doing quite well. Pharmaceuticals and chemicals are showing positive growth numbers, construction equipment have also seen huge recoveries.
However, sectors like travel and tourism, real estate, construction and retail have taken a big hit and have also not shown signs of recovery.
A few measures that the government can undertake are:
– Putting cash in the economy and pay state governments their due taxes.
– Investing in public health infrastructure for smooth distribution of vaccines.
– Investing massively in infrastructure.
Shivam Jha, Gurugram. Twitter: @shivamjha6701
‘India at a turning point, needs to get economy back on track’
The Covid-19 crisis is an urgent reminder that India is at a turning point and it needs to take decisive reforms to get the economy back on track. There is a need to create millions of gainful jobs or risk a decade of rising joblessness and economic stagnation. India’s business leaders can help restore the country to a path of high growth. This will require focus on three key themes.
First, firms will need to raise aspirations and commit to productivity growth through a set of frontier business ideas. Second, businesses need to develop a long-term value creation mindset coupled with a strong performance-oriented culture. Third, firms need a set of winning goals if they want to emerge as large, high-growth and globally competitive businesses. These goals are:
– Customer-centric innovation
– Operational excellence and scalable platforms
– Ability to be ahead of the curve and win in discontinuities
– Well-executed mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships
– Strong corporate governance and trust-based brands that attract capital, customers, and employees
India has shown, in the past three decades, that it can confound even the loudest skeptics and put in place key changes that enable an economy to outperform.
Sandeep Wanchoo, Gurugram. Twitter: @swanchoo
Also read: Reader View: Time for govt to fulfill its minimum government, maximum governance promise