PAY AND WIN
THE WEEK|May 17, 2020
THE CHALLENGE BEFORE THE GOVERNMENT IS TO REVIVE SMALL AND BIG BUSINESSES BY INDUCING INDIANS TO SPEND, THEREBY CREATING A NEW INDUSTRIAL ECOSYSTEM. IT WILL ATTRACT GLOBAL GIANTS FEELING JITTERY ABOUT CHINA AND JUMPSTART INDIA’S ECONOMIC RESURGENCE
R. PRASANNAN
PAY AND WIN

A penny saved is a penny earned, so goes an old saying. If that be so, several Indians were earning quite a few thousand rupees in the last 40 days when they were not spending in locked-down India. They opened their wallets or swiped their cards only to buy food, medicines, masks and sanitisers. They did not drink, they did not binge, they did not fly, they did not hire cabs, they did not buy clothes, shoes or phones, they did not go to the movies. Most of them did not buy even a bowl of ice cream.

In normal times, it is important to know how much people spend; but in abnormal times like these, it is equally important to know how much people did not spend. There are no official figures about it. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) says the Indian retail sector “lost” about ₹5.5 lakh crore during the lockdown period. Notionally, that could mean Indian shoppers did not spend ₹5.5 lakh crore.

Going by the old saying, Indian shoppers saved ₹5.5 lakh crore, or gained ₹5.5 lakh crore, or earned ₹5.5 lakh crore. But that remains as idle money in wallets or in bank accounts, earning only simple interest which is peanuts. This is, in effect, savings. Savings per se are not enough for any economy. The challenge before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to convert the savings into investment.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 17, 2020 من THE WEEK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 17, 2020 من THE WEEK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

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