India Faces a Major Economic Catastrophe, PMO Can’t Handle By Itself, Says Raghuram Rajan

“I’m very worried about the extent of the catastrophe we’re facing … the government must consult opposition talent … it can’t all be done by PMO. we must pull out all stops … if more is not done, the economy will be a shadow of its former self”, said former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan in an interview to The Wire.

In candid and outspoken remarks, Rajan, who is also a former chief economic advisor to the government of India and former chief economist of the IMF, said the threat to India’s economic prospects was such that the government must consult the best talent in the country and not worry about who is across the political aisle. He said the situation could get very ugly and it cannot all be handled by the PMO.

Rajan told The Wire the challenge was not just to repair the damage done by the coronavirus and the lockdown but the preceding 3-4 years of economic drift. Asked if a government that was responsible for the drift and doesn’t even accept the economy had been drifting could be the one to battle it, the former RBI governor said there was a lot of capable talent in the country and the government should call on it.