Sharp Economic Recovery; Delay in Fixing Banks Worrying: NK Singh

Video Producer: Hera Khan

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission of India, economist and author of the book Portraits of Power - Half a Century of Being at Ringside, NK Singh speaks exclusively to The Quint on economy, telecom sector, 15th Finance Commission and more.

Elucidating on his assessment of the post-pandemic economic recovery of India, Singh said:

“The Indian economy recovery will confound even the optimist by the sharp recovery that it has exhibited... The sharp recovery in Q2 has itself been very significant... Next fiscal year will show a sharp upturn.”

He also predicted that in the subsequent period of a few years a "nominal GDP growth, close to 11-12 percent, would be realistic to expect".

Answering how is the government going to fund the massive expenditure to support the growth, Singh said he is expecting a “sharp revenue rebound”.

“We need to have a range of fiscal numbers, both for the Centre and the state. We need to have a recalibrated view on the debt numbers... A downward movement of debt to GDP can be expected in the next 3-4 years. I see the overall macrostability will be restored.”

NK Singh, Chairman, 15th Finance Commission of India

The economist also expressed concerns about the “withdrawal of the stimulus” and that it should be done orderly and not be “disruptive to the economic recovery process”.

While reflecting upon how will private sector get back to business amid poor credit growth, he said, "Agricultural sector is robust, moving. The problems of credit and financial systems remain an ongoing challenge.”

Answering whether India lags behind in terms of technological innovation, the 15 Finance Commission Chairman said:

“It’s sad that public sector companies like BSNL and MTNL have been allowed to languish... It’s necessary to promote policies that enables more Indian companies to become more influential than being dependent.”

Reasserting that existing federal trust can always be reinforced, Singh feels that the “concept of federal trust deficit is exaggerated and misplaced".