Jalan Suggests 3-Pronged Growth Strategy

Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan has prescribed a three-pronged strategy for faster development of the economy.

According to the governor, the thrust should be on improving the state of the public institutions in the country. Educational institutions, state owned service systems, and other public sector systems need to be revamped for a better functioning of the economy, he said at a meeting organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata on Saturday.

The Indian education system is in a bad shape, Jalan said. The state of facilities like infrastructure and water calls for a collective improvement effort and radical changes in ground realities, he added.

He also stressed on the need to quantify the extent of tolerance Indians should have for inefficiencies. "We as Indians have a greater level of tolerance, which has also been one of the factors leading to slow growth in the economy," he added.

The governor also said all government servants should have accountability, for potential can only be attained if there is responsibility on the part of government employees.

The third and the last part of the strategy, according to Jalan, should be devicing a compact macro economic policy for the long run. "Although everyone agrees to this, the country has not been able to draw a long-term macro economic policy, he explained. Tremendous tolerance for slowness has been the result of what India is today, he added. "It is high time we should put forward a 15-year macro economic policy for the country," he said.