Economic slowdown: Govt is curing problem from wrong side, says Pronab Sen

The economy needs to grow by 12 per cent at current prices in dollar terms to make India a $5 trillion economy, says Sen

As the gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell to over a six year low of 5 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, former chief statistician Pronab Sen attributed this to satiation in demand from the middle and upper middle class and distress in the rural sector. Sen tells Indivjal Dhasmana that the government is curing the problem from the wrong side. Edited excerpts:

Were low Q1 GDP numbers expected or did it come as a shock? 

Not much of a shock. I have been saying for a while that what demonetisation did was that it gave unnatural