11. The Fiscal Action We Need Now

Economist Dr. Indira Rajaraman talks to host Pavan Srinath about what immediate fiscal action can be taken by Union and State governments in India, as the month of May 2020 begins, and India exits the COVID-19 lockdown in a phased manner.  Dr Rajaraman shares how disaster relief funds can be used and deployed rapidly to all states, how governments in India need to gain the trust of the trucking and transport industry, and enable them to resume the movement of goods across the country and within states, with a priority on foodgrains and perishable food like fruits and vegetables. She also shares her thoughts on setting fiscal targets for economic recovery, government support for the private sector, the dynamic deployment of testing resources and more.  Dr. Indira Rajaraman is an eminent Indian economist and was a Member of the Thirteenth Finance Commission. From 1994 until her retirement in 2007, she held the Reserve Bank of India Chair at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Delhi, and from 1976 to 1994 she was on the Economics faculty of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Dr. Rajaraman's research papers have appeared in journals and books published by Elsevier, Springer Verlag, John Wiley, the Brookings Institution and Oxford University Press, on a wide range of development issues. She writes regularly in the financial press. Visit the Bangalore International Centre website to stay up to date on livestreams, upcoming podcast episodes and future events.