Manmohan Singh on Globalisation: Those Who Doubted me 25 Years Ago Have Been Proven Wrong

Mohali, Sept 23: Globalisation is an irreplaceable concept, which would allow economies across the world to gain, said former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Considered as the architect of Indian econ

Updated: September 23, 2017 7:22 PM IST

By India.com News Desk

Dr Manmohan Singh

Mohali, Sept 23: Globalisation is an irreplaceable concept, which would allow economies across the world to gain, said former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Considered as the architect of Indian economic reforms of the 1990s’, Manmohan, as the then finance minister, had recommended the government to liberalise the economy by allowing entry of private players in major sectors.

Highlights

  • Sceptics of globalisation have been proven wrong, says the former PM.
  • Challenges still remain in education, healthcare and environment sectors, he added.
  • Job creation is also a task which needs to be confronted, Manmohan pointed out.

While speaking at the Indian School of Business (ISB) Leadership Summit last evening, Manmohan said his decision in 1991 to open up the economy drew flak from some quarters. The sceptics, however, have been proven completely wrong 25 years later, he added.

“At that time, there were many people who were sceptical about the success of the new policies. However, we have proved them wrong. It is indeed a matter of pride that inspite of many changes in government at the political level, the broad thrust and direction of economic policies have remained unchanged in the last 25 years,” he told the gathering.

Despite the economic gains made over the last two decades, Manmohan said the nation still faces daunting challenges to be overcome in the health, education and environment sector. He also said that employment generation is a major challenge before successive governments, along with providing a fresh boost to the manufacturing sector.

The former RBI Governor also appealed the academicians to conduct a research on the phases which yielded the best economic results for the government in the past 25 years. Such a study, Manmohan claimed, would aide the government in future policy-making.

The 10-year period between 2004-14, when Manmohan led the government at Centre, saw a sharp decline in poverty rate, along with a consistent growth in the economy.

He was replaced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the 2014 general elections, which saw BJP winning with a landslide mandate. One of the electoral planks of the saffron party – creation of 2 crore jobs per year – is yet to be addressed. However, the ruling dispensation claims that the government’s scheme promoting start-ups and entrepreneurship has turned the youths into “job-creators, rather than job-seekers”.

Manmohan, however, while speaking to CNN-News 18 earlier in the week, said job creation should be considered as an area which needs to be urgently addressed. The decline in GDP growth, he said, would only worsen the situation for the scores of youth seeking employment.

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