Covid 19 has brought into sharp focus the urgent need to make economies more resilient. In the case of India, which was already reeling under economic slowdown, the pandemic has further exacerbated the structural fault lines of our growth pathway and patterns of production and consumption. The loss in aggregate demand and investment, depletion of jobs; increase in environmental degradation and climate hazards, pollution and widening inequalities were proving to be a challenge even before the Covid hit. India lockdown, largest in the world, put brakes nearly on all economic activity, except in agriculture.
Nearly 120 million people have lost their jobs. Phasing out of the lockdown, the trajectory of covid cases remains uncertain making economic revival slower than expected. Many governments across the world have proposed green stimulus and recovery plans to stay the course on climate change. Green New Deal is perhaps a good phraseology to underscore the need to re-order economies where sustainable economic activities create jobs, drive spending, restore demand, and make way out of the recession to a more habitable and equitable world. Can India craft a recovery strategy with sustainable development at its heart?
Speakers:
- Rathin Roy, Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
- Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman Advent India Advisory Board, Fr Chairperson HSBC India, Past President FICCI
- Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation