Govt could've done more on reforms: EAC member Shamika Ravi

New Delhi: Shamika Ravi, member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council has said that despite the government’s reforms push, much more could have been done over the last four years when the NDA government of Prime Minister Modi has been in power. She observed that Modi’s election was on the development plank and there was the promise of economic reforms. However, liberalisation did not match up to the expectations.

In an interview to PTI, Ravi, who is also a senior fellow at Brookings India, said, “I think the country had an appetite for big bang economic reforms. We could have done a lot.”

The Modi government introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and considerably eased the foreign direct investment regime in four years, Ravi said.

“The government could ha­ve done much mo­re,” she said and added “On the economic fr­o­nt, Mo­di’s election, I think, was a mandate for de­­velopment & economic refor­ms.”

“Starting with ITDC Ho­tels, Air India, in fact we had list of PSUs that we should have definitely push­ed ahe­ad (for stake sale),” Ravi obs­e­rved. Stating that there was a thriving private airlin­es business in India, she qu­estioned the governm­­e­nt’s intention of revi­v­ing Air India. “I have lesser faith in go­vernm­ent to run businesses. Wh­at is the bu­sin­ess plan for turnaround of Air India and why should we do it? We have a thriving priv­ate airlines business in this country,” she noted.

On the ongoing global ta­r­iff wa­rs, Ravi said that it’s a great opportunity for India. “We sh­ould be stepping up and trying to fill the gap,” she observed.

On March 9, US preside­nt Donald Tru­mp imposed he­avy tariffs on imported st­eel and aluminum items following which China and the European Union hit back by imposing retaliatory tariffs against the US products. Noting that India had to co­mpete in the global market, Ravi said the country wo­uld have to make its corporate tax rate equivalent to countries like Vietnam.

“Despite the fact that th­e­re is push back in globalisation everywhere, markets today are far more unified and interlinked than they have ever been. To compete with co­untries like Vietnam, of co­urse our taxes have to be re­duced,” the EAC-PM me­mber said.