Manmohan Singh's 'three steps' to stem India's economic crisis

Soutik Biswas

India correspondent of BBC NEWS

10 August 2020

India must take three steps "immediately" to stem the damage of the coronavirus pandemic, according to its former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

"Higher borrowing is inevitable," he said. "Even if we have to spend an additional 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to cater to the military, health and economic challenges, it must be done.

cater to 迎合；为…服务

He acknowledged that it would increase India's debt to GDP ratio, but if borrowing "can save lives, borders, restore livelihoods and boost economic growth, then its worth it", he said.

"We must not be shy of borrowing but we must be prudent on how we use that borrowing," he said.

In the past, taking loans from multilateral institutions like the IMF and World Bank have been taken as signs of India's economic weaknesses. But now India could "borrow from a position of strength, compared to other developing nations," Dr Singh said.

multilateral adj. /ˌmʌltiˈlætərəl/  1.in which three or more groups, nations, etc. take part 多边的；多国的 •multilateral negotiations 多边谈判 2.having many sides or parts 有多条边的；有多个部分的

"India's track record as a borrower from multilateral institutions is impeccable, It is not a sign of weakness to borrow from these institutions."

impeccable adj. /ɪmˈpekəbl/  without mistakes or faults 无错误的；无瑕疵的；完美 

• impeccable manners/taste 无可挑剔的举止╱品味

Many countries have decided to print money to fund government spending to tide over the ongoing economic crises, and some prominent economists have suggested the same for India. Others have raised fears about excess supply of money leading to inflation.

prominent adj. /ˈprɒmɪnənt/  

1.important or well known 重要的；著名的；杰出的 •a prominent politician 杰出的政治家 •She was prominent in the fashion industry. 她曾在时装界名噪一时。

2.easily seen 显眼的；显著的；突出的

3.sticking out from sth 突出的；凸现的 •a prominent nose 高鼻子

Monetisation of the fiscal deficit directly by India's central bank used to be norm until the mid 1990s. India, Dr Singh said, had moved away from the practice to bring about "fiscal discipline, institutional separation from the Reserve Bank of India [central bank] and the government and to curb unhealthy impulses of seemingly free money".

Monetisation：货币化   fiscal deficit：财政赤字

"I am aware that the traditional fear of high inflation due to excess money supply is perhaps no longer valid in developed nations," he said. "But for countries such as India, other than costs of institutional autonomy of the central bank, unbridled printing of money can have attendant impacts on currency, trade and imported inflation."

Dr Singh said he was not ruling out printing money to finance the deficit, but "merely suggesting that let the barrier for that to be very high and use it as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted".

He warned against India following some other nations in becoming more protectionist - imposing high trade barriers duties on imports. India's trade policy over the last three decades had brought "enormous economic gains to not just the top but across all sections of our population", he said.

As Asia's third largest economy, India today is in a far stronger position today than in the early 1990s. I asked Dr Singh whether these strengths would help India stage a robust recovery after the pandemic ends.

"India's real GDP is 10 times stronger than what it was in 1990, and India had lifted more than 300 million people from poverty since then," he said. "So yes, the Indian economy is intrinsically much stronger now."

intrinsically /ɪnˈtrɪnzɪkli; ɪnˈtrɪnsɪkli/ adv. 本质地；内在地；固有地

But a significant driver of that growth was India's trade with the rest of the world. The share of global trade in India's GDP increased nearly fivefold in this period.

"India is much more integrated with the rest of the world now," Dr Singh said. "Hence, what happens in the global economy will have a significant impact on India's economy. In this pandemic, the global economy is severely dented and that will be a big cause of concern for India."

dent    /dent/  

1.to make a hollow place in a hard surface, usually by hitting it 使凹陷；使产生凹痕•The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。

2.to damage sb's confidence, reputation, etc. 损害，伤害，挫伤（信心、名誉等） •It seemed that nothing could dent his confidence. 似乎任何事情都不会使他的信心受挫

3.a hollow place in a hard surface, usually caused by sth hitting it 凹痕；凹坑；凹部•a large dent in the car door 车门上一大块凹陷

IDIOMS 习语

make, etc. a ˈdent in sth

to reduce the amount of sth, especially money 减少，削减（尤指资金）

Ultimately, no one yet knows the full economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, nor how long nations will take to recover from it. But one thing is clear, it has defied the experience of even seasoned economists like Dr Singh.

defy v.   /dɪˈfaɪ/  

1.to refuse to obey or show respect for sb in authority, a law, a rule, etc. 违抗；反抗；蔑视 •I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers. 我可不敢不听老师的话。

2.~ belief, explanation, description, etc. to be impossible or almost impossible to believe, explain, describe, etc. 不可能，无法（相信、解释、描绘等）

•a political move that defies explanation 无法解释的政治举动

3.to successfully resist sb/sth to a very unusual degree 经受住；顶住；抗住 •The baby boy defied all the odds and survived (= stayed alive when it seemed certain that he would die) . 这名男婴九死一生活了下来。

IDIOMS 习语

I DEFY YOU/ANYONE TO DO STH

used to say that sb should try to do sth, as a way of emphasizing that you think it is impossible to do it 激，挑动（某人尽力做你认为不可能的事）

"The previous crises were macroeconomic crises for which there were proven economic tools," he said. "Now we have an economic crisis caused by an epidemic which has induced fear and uncertainty in society, and monetary policy as an economic tool to counter this crisis is proving to be blunt."

monetary policy：货币政策

blunt /blʌnt/  

1.without a sharp edge or point 不锋利的；钝的 •a blunt knife 钝刀子

2.( of a person or remark 人或说话 ) very direct; saying exactly what you think without trying to be polite 嘴直的；直言的

3.to make sth weaker or less effective 使减弱；使降低效应 •Age hadn't blunted his passion for adventure. 岁月没有冲淡他的冒险激情。

4.to make a point or an edge less sharp 使（尖端、刃）变钝

原文链接：https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53675858