Governments should focus on employment generation, not freebies: Raghuram Rajan

  Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund, stressed that governments need to focus on creating more jobs for the youth, and not On freebies only for short term political gains. He said that emphasis on health care and education is paramount to ensure a smooth development path.

Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival, Rajan said the government should be ready for decentralisation, as its benefits can be seen in the education and healthcare sectors in states like Delhi, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He said the recent cases by the Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies against opposition leaders ahead of elections are “undemocratic” as citizens are left with very few options while electing leaders (from the opposition).

Rajan, who wrote 'Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India's Economic Future' (Penguin Random House India) with economist Rohit Lamba, said, “Democracy and free speech are paramount to the growth of sectors that need research, creativity and new ideas " Emphasizing that the book can be easily understood by everyone, the economist said, “We do not have to follow the growth story of other countries like China, but make our own path, recognize our strengths and build on them.” It is important to build.”

Regarding cryptocurrency, Rajan said that it is a technology, although it may be okay to invest some money so that if there is a loss, one can bear it, but putting one's life savings at stake is a bad idea. “What needs to be understood is that crypto is not being regulated, and many operators cannot be trusted.” A large part of the book deals with job creation and the authors say that unemployment is causing unrest.

Rajan said, “The youth are looking for reservation because they believe that good jobs exist only in the government. The government needs to realize that the best way to uplift the people is to facilitate employment generation. We hear a lazy response that things will soon get better. It's important to do this in an almost obsessive fashion right now. We cannot take too many steps in the future.”