Sharpen the focus on growth: C Rangarajan
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/sharpen-the-focus-on-growth/article17763234.ece
The
Hindu, April 3, 2017
Sharpen the focus on growth
C
Rangarajan
Excerpts:
“Three
things need attention. First, reforms to simplify procedures, speed up the
delivery system and enlarge competition must be pursued vigorously. Some
significant steps have been taken in this regard in recent years such as moving
forward on the GST Bill, passing of the Bankruptcy Act, and enlarging the scope
of foreign direct investment.
Second,
all viable “stalled” projects must be brought to completion. Third, financial
bottlenecks need to be cleared. The banking system is under stress. The
non-performing loans of the system have risen and are rising. This has squeezed
the profitability of banks with some showing loss. More distressing is the
minimal flow of new credit. The problem is often referred to as the twin
balance sheet problem. If corporate balance sheets are weak, automatically the
banks’ balance sheets also become weak. Really speaking, it is two sides of the
same coin.
The
solution to clean up the balance sheet of banks lies in taking some “haircuts”.
At least some part of the accumulation of bad debts has been due to the
slowdown of the economy. The old saying is “bad loans are sown in good times”.
Even though a haircut cannot be avoided, wilful defaulters must not go
unpunished. Asset restructuring companies are part of the solution and we have
some experience of them.”
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