MNCs moving out of China, India must seize the opportunity: Panagariya

Covid-19 crisis has made it evident that India needs to create better paid, formal sector jobs that requires moving workers out of tiny enterprises into better-paying jobs, he said

India must now think long-term to create better paying formal sector jobs by seizing the opportunity presented by multinationals who are possibly moving out of China to diversify their operations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, eminent economist Arvind Panagariya said.

Panagariya, Professor of Economics at Columbia University and Director, Raj Center at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, emphasised that the one thing the current crisis has revealed is the vulnerability of Indian workers to a shock that forces a near end of economic activity.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a "time for thinking long-term. It will be