New York: India must focus on growth of labour-intensive sectors to create decent jobs for the masses as well as give “serious thought” to privatising the public sector banks (PSBs), eminent economist Arvind Panagariya has said, emphasising that the reform process must be completed in the coming five years.
Panagariya, who had served as the first Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog from January 2015 to August 2017, was responding to a question on what the priorities should be of the government that comes into power when India’s mammoth and crucial general elections end next month.
“My personal view is that India must complete its reform process in the coming five years,” Panagariya, Director at the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at Columbia University, told PTI here. Highlighting the priority areas, Panagariya said that India needs a clear focus on the growth of labour-intensive sectors such as apparel, footwear, furniture, kitchenware and other light manufactures to create decent jobs for the masses in India.
“We need firms in these sectors that are globally competitive and capture the space in export markets that China has been quitting due to its high wages. This requires flexible labour and land laws and an ecosystem that is yet friendlier to large firms,” he said. Panagariya also emphasised on the need for major reforms in the area of education, saying the Right to Education Act has wholly “neglected quality.”
