Post-crisis, India should increase its integration with global economy by Mukul Gulati
Providing insights on getting the India economy back on course post-covid ,“The government has the obligation and the opportunity to take some bold steps to get the economy back on track and implement much awaited structural reforms,” writes Mukul Gulati, Managing Partner, Zephyr Peacock India.
Click here to read the full article on ‘Economic Times’
Below is an excerpt from the post which first appeared on Economic Times on 20 June 2020:
Readers of a certain age will remember the Bombay Club. No, the Bombay Club wasn’t an exclusive social venue in Colaba, but a reference to a group of industrialists opposed to the economic reforms of 1991. These industrialists were worried about foreign competition and lobbied with the government to keep imports and foreign firms away. Foreign competition came anyway. In response, the domestic industry became more efficient, consumption and exports grew, and members of the Bombay Club benefitted from access to foreign capital and global markets.
The global pandemic is being blamed on capitalism and globalization, accompanied by the usual crowd of mercantilists and isolationists calling for protectionism. The tragedy for many poor countries is that they still have a long way to go in realizing the income and productivity benefits of global economic integration. Globalization has not yet reached its full potential.
In the absence of American leadership, India and other developing countries need to champion the cause of WTO and global trade. By integrating with the global economy, India has helped move 300 million people moving out of abject poverty. Not to mention the added advantage of getting rid of clunky Ambassador cars.
