Montek Singh Ahluwalia , former deputy chairperson of the erstwhile Planning Commission and one of India’s most experienced economic policymakers, is the author of ‘Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth Years’. He spoke to Nalin Mehta and Sanjiv Shankaran about economic reforms
You say in the first seven years of UPA, the economy grew at 8.4% and 138 million people escaped poverty. What happened later?
The growth momentum of the first seven years was remarkable, but economies have ups and downs and there was a downturn in the last three years. The global downturn after the Eurozone crisis in 2011 was one explanatory factor, but the system also ran into domestic constraints. Regulatory constraints prevented large projects from taking off. That problem continues even today. Allegations of corruption after 2011 also altered the political atmosphere. By the time of the election, the mood of the country turned completely against UPA.
