Size matters. Or does it? It depends on which side of the fence you are on. Ask the government, and it contends that it has unleashed a cocktail-combination of highly-effective economic drugs to ensure immediate and efficient recovery. Talk to the opposition, and it claims that the grandiose policy package is a case of too little, too late. The fact is that none of them stand on firm ground because this is the worst crisis in a century. None of us have seen something like this before; hopefully, none of us will in the future.
One of the points of contention is the quantum of money that the policy makers say that they have injected to kick-start the economy—Rs 2,000,000 crore, the fifth largest among all the nations. The second point of debate is the mix. Is it a judicious blend that has enough stimuli to drive up the knocked-out supply of goods and services, and pull back consumption that’s down in the dumps? Finally, there is the question of timing—is this the right time to push through big-bang reforms down the dying system’s...
