Growth triggered by reforms should benefit all sections of society, C. Rangarajan, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, has said.
Speaking at the three-day of the 101st annual conference of Indian Economic Association at the Vellore Institute of Technology here, Dr. Rangarajan said that growth was the solution to many of socio-economic problems in the country. “But at the same time, we need to address the vulnerable sections directly. We must combine the passion for growth with compassion for the poor and vulnerable,” he said.
He further said that raising investment ratio, putting the banking system back on its rails, employment generation through better growth, enhancing export growth to contain current account deficit and removing agrarian distress by increasing productivity and consolidation of small landholdings were the five concerns .
Dr. G.Viswanathan, founder and chancellor, VIT, said India’s financial losses due to corruption touched ₹70 lakh crore. This was due to tax evasion by the corporate sector and corruption at various levels and it was unfortunate that police protection was being given to those accused of corruption, he said. If politicians, bureaucracy and the people of country made a united effort, the dream of India becoming a developed nation can be realised, he said, adding that among the 60 corrupt nations in Asia, the percentage of corruption prevailing in India stood at 69%, while it was less than 0.5 per cent in Japan.
