India’s Economy 2015-2020

Contemporary Commentary

Shankar Acharya

Why did India’s economic growth slow so much after 2017? How fast was the economy actually growing? How serious was the collateral damage from demonetization? Why did India’s exports stagnate while other Asian countries enjoyed good export growth? What were the initial problems with the new GST? What were the major economic reforms during this period? Why does primary education not show better outcomes year after year? How bad was the worsening of job prospects? What led to the retreat from globalization in the world economy? How serious was the impact of Covid and Lockdown on the Indian economy? What did it do to employment and poverty? How soon will the recovery come? Will there be lasting effects? What is the medium-term outlook for India’s economy?

These and many other issues are explored in this rich and varied collection of 55 contemporary commentaries on Indian economic issues between 2015 and 2020.

“This is a wonderful collection of masterly essays by Dr Shankar Acharya, one of India’s foremost policy economists. These essays cover the issues dealt by the government of Prime Minister Modi over the last half-decade. Shankar Acharya lucidly covers the complex policy issues relating to open economy macroeconomics, WTO and trade policy measures, economics of growth and employment and the emerging public health challenges. In his trenchant essays he warns about the possibilities of grave damage to India’s growth prospects due to the government’s growing protectionist policies. This book of essays is a must-read for the policymakers, policy analysts and all thinking citizens of our Republic.”

—  Vijay Kelkar
      Chairman, India Development Foundation, and former Finance Secretary, Government of India.

"Shankar Acharya is a leading analyst of Indian economic policy and performance. In this collection, his key writings on the evolution of the economy and major issues of the 2015-20 period are succinctly and carefully analyzed. His insights into the many issues and challenges facing the Indian economy should be required reading for all who wish to understand its evolution.

—  Anne O. Krueger
     Senior Research Professor of International Economics, School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

“Arguably, Shankar Acharya is the most effective commentator on India’s economic policies. Regardless of who rules, he speaks truth to power. Every one of these essays offers deep insight into a policy issue or sound advice on what the government must do to accelerate growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability.”

—  Arvind Panagariya
     Professor, Columbia University, former Vice Chairman, Niti Aayog, and the author of India Unlimited: Reclaiming the Lost Glory.

Shankar Acharya has been one of India’s leading policy economists. After serving as Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance for six years he became India’s longest-serving Chief Economic Adviser for eight years (1993-2001) when he advised three successive finance ministers: Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and Yashwant Sinha. During the latter half of this period, he was also Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Since 2001, his varied assignments include: Member, Twelfth Finance Commission (2004), Member, National Security Advisory Board (2009-2013), and, for twelve years, non-executive Chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Earlier, he worked in the World Bank, where he led the team for the World Development Report 1979 and then served as Research Adviser to the Bank. Since 2001 he has been Honorary Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He has authored ten books and numerous scholarly articles and has been a leading columnist with the Business Standard for eighteen years. He has served on the boards of several national research organizations, some corporates and charities and the Reserve Bank’s Advisory Committee for Monetary Policy (2005-2016). He has a PhD from Harvard University and a BA from Oxford.