Fiscal deficit won't matter if spending is prudent, says Pronab Sen

Terming the economic situation as 'very bad,' Sen said that post 2016-17 India's economic statistics measuring GDP growth were 'largely guess work'

Pronab Sen, India’s former chief statistician and newly appointed chairman of the Standing Committee on Statistics, has said that the forthcoming Budget should boost demand by putting more money into MNREGA, PM-Kisan and rural roads as these were guaranteed ways of ensuring that money gets down to ground level where it’s most needed and would be immediately spent.

In an interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Sen said he would have no problem if, to boost demand by increasing expenditure on schemes like PM Kisan, MNREGA and infrastructure, the central government’s deficit reached 5.5 per cent. While along with the