‘FOR THE ECONOMY, THE WORST IS BEHIND US'

After a year and a half of unremitting gloom, the Indian economy may finally have turned a corner. In an interview with Deputy Editor Shwweta Punj, Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan shares the government’s vision to put the economy on the road to sustainable recovery

Q.It has been a brutal year and a half. Is there finally light at the end of the tunnel?

A. I think the worst is behind us. It’s unlikely we will have a recurrence of Covid of the magnitude of the first and second wave. Demand is growing. The government has taken a lot of steps— especially for the poor and vulnerable. Various schemes have been imple­mented, enhanced or expanded in the past one and a half years. We have done reasonably well and I think there is some revival of private demand; services are also growing. We should have reasonably good growth this fiscal as well as the next one.

Q. When can we expect double-digit growth—this fiscal or the next?

A. Double-digit in real terms, I am not so sure. But double-digit in nominal terms... it’s possible.

Q. There is still considerable pain in the informal economy. How does the government propose to ease it?

A. It is a concern. With the receding of the Covid wave, the informal sector too is looking up. The services sec­ tor also has an informal component.