Some standing committee members also pointed to how the Union government must do more to help small-scale and rural enterprises affected by the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus
China gained the most during the covid-19 pandemic and its economy recovered the fastest, while India continues at a slow pace, experts of NITI Aayog said. An expected shift of manufacturing from China to India in the next few years could boost local production, the experts said during a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on finance on ‘The long-term impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the global economy, trade flows, and financial markets’ on Wednesday.
“It was a cordial meeting and most of the discussion was about the post-pandemic situation in the world and economies of the world, how different economies, especially the US, European countries, and China have recovered from the impact of covid-19. Experts also said that countries should see the economic recovery path of China since the outbreak of coronavirus," a person aware of development said on condition of anonymity.
The committee members, however, were not satisfied with the presentation, and asked them for a written submission on the impact of covid-19 on Indian economy. The panel also asked the NITI Aayog experts to suggest an economic recovery path for the country and sought another report on the economic recovery paths of different global economies.
“The next meeting is on 19 January and it has been decided that NITI Aayog will provide two different presentations and written submissions on the post-covid situation in India and different economies of the world, especially the US, European countries, and China," a second person aware of the development said, also on condition of anonymity.
“There is a need for India to focus on development of ports and infrastructure to benefit from the possibility of manufacturing shifting from China to India. The manufacturing sector in India needs to be more competitive than some of the developing and world economies," the first person said.
Some standing committee members also pointed to how the Union government must do more to help small-scale and rural enterprises affected by the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. The Centre should focus more on reviving Indian pharmaceutical companies,
“The experts of NITI Aayog said that India has been one of the most affected countries and it could take nearly two years before we make any major improvements in our economic situation. We were told that a large section of manufacturing in India is still dependent on China. Members wanted to know what the NITI Aayog’s advice has been to the Centre over making the country more Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in this sector," added a third person aware of the developments.
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