With the onset of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a number of macro parameters of the Indian economy have been thrown out of gear. The fiscal deficit on the combined account of centre and state government in 2020-21 may increase to 11-12% of estimated GDP. Consequently, the combined debt-GDP ratio of the central and state government may reach close to 81% at the end of 2020-21, more than 20% points above the targeted threshold of 60% as per centre’s 2018 amendment to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA). The CPI inflation rate breached the upper tolerance limit of the monetary policy framework (MPF) in the last quarter of 2019-20 and the first quarter of 2020-21. In fact, India’s economic crisis predates the pandemic. The infirmities of the FRBMA and the MPF had already started becoming visible with 2019-20 real and nominal GDP growth rates plummeting to 4.2% and 7.2% respectively. It is high time that we consider recasting India’s fiscal and monetary policy frameworks. In this article, we review these frameworks, identify their inconsistencies, and consider remedial changes so as to serve India’ future needs and compulsions.
Keywords: India’s FRBMA, Fiscal responsibility Legislation, Monetary policy committee, Fiscal council, Debt sustainability, Macro policy coordination council
JEL Classification Codes: H12, H62, H63, E52, E62, E63
Srivastava, D.K., Bharadwaj, M., Kapur, T., & Trehan, R. (2021). Covid’s Economic Impact: Should India Recast its Fiscal and Monetary Policy Frameworks?: Journal of International Economics and Finance. 1(1), 63-81