Govt should spend, increase healthcare allocation: CEA to industry leaders

Speaking on privatisation, Subramanian said disinvestment would happen this year and selling Air India would be a seminal moment that would clearly signal the government's intent

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian on Saturday said the government should step up and spend as the economy recovered after one of the worst contractions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on Friday, recommended countercyclical fiscal policy, he said, adding: "Survey is clear that fiscal support should continue till we reach pre-Covid-19 levels."

The CEA also said that spends during recessionary times have a much higher multiplier effect on the economy. He was speaking with industry leaders in a televised Economic Survey Townhall organised by CNBC-TV18.

The survey, tabled ahead of the Union Budget, expects