Time to put the economy back on track

Reforms are necessary but the pace of their implementation should be regulated. Focus has to be on sectors that can create jobs

The fact that the economy is facing troubled times has now been widely accepted. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate has touched a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in Q2 of 2017 as against 6.1 per cent in the previous period and market expectations of 6.6 per cent. Credit offtake in the non-food sector declined to a record low of 3.3 per cent in February 2017, the lowest in several decades, on a year to year basis as against an increase of 9.9 per cent in February 2016, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. Credit to