As PM steps in, will the economy step up? Economists speak

The economy requires focused and targeted policy measures to prevent India from hitting the skids. ET spoke to a range of economists and former top bureaucrats to bring to your table a set of policy options available with the government.

Govinda Rao, Economist, Director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy

- Corporatise railways and give it autonomy to improve the state of infrastructure

- Ramp up the disinvestment process and use the money for capital investments

- Make the state governments accountable for SEB functions

S Narayan, Former Finance Secretary

- Make CIL accountable for delivering 70% of the coal requirement while the remaining 30% can be imported

- Provide concessions on import of road construction machinery

- Deregulate prices in the power sector and allow suppliers to pass on coal prices to consumers

RP Singh, Former Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

- Use revenue collected from motor vehicles tax, etc for capital investments and not for financing revenue expenditure. This will ensure infrastructure development

- Allow FDI in multibrand, especially in the agricultural sector, to address the structural problems of agri productivity

DK Srivastava, Member of the twelfth finance commission and director of Madras School of Economics

- Fast track DTC and implement it as soon as possible

- Make sure the thermal power plants work at full capacity

- Use the road cess collected in an efficient manner for further infrastructure development

GK Pillai, Former Home Secretary

- Don't tinker with benefits offered to investors under the SEZ Act. Protect extisting investments

- To minimise SEB losses, make all power substations profit centres

- Release coal blocks not being used by CIL to the private sector