Economy punctured

A member of ruling party, Yashwant Sinha’s observations on the Indian economy is an eye-opener for the government. The BJP, in the interest of the country, should take it in right spirit. The economy seemed to be on the right track, but was derailed by the half-baked demonetisation policy. The sliding GDP numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. Adding fuel to the fire is the GST. Looks like most of the initiatives are being taken hurriedly without ground preparedness. 

The economy can be revived if corrective steps are taken in a more practical manner: The  government should bring down oil prices on par with neighbouring countries, and if needed, completely do away with excise and other levies on petrol and diesel. The government should go in for some austerity measures within its departments. The government should come out with a single tax levy under the GST; it should revisit the direct tax structure and exports must be given top priority. Foreign trade policies and procedures must be extremely liberal and bottleneck-free to push exports. The NITI Aayog’s recent reports should be taken seriously. People-friendly procedures should be put in place to take the country forward.

A Sathyanarayana   New Delhi

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