IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
New Delhi: IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath, in an exclusive interview with NDTV, said the global economic recovery is threatened by new restrictions in many countries – including India – on the rise of the Omicron variant. The IMF’s chief economist – who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday – highlighted three things she will tell the Center about how to get back on track in the face of another potential Covid threat.
“The first day, to ensure that you are doing the vaccination in the spirit of war. 37% of India’s total population is fully immunized – in terms of first dose, this is much higher, around 60%. What we’re seeing around the world is that as vaccine cases go down, pressure goes up, people don’t think about vaccination. So overcoming vaccine procrastination through much higher vaccination rates is essential,” said Ms. Gopinath.
“It’s not going to solve the problem. You’re still going to get infections, we’ve seen that in the UK, even with higher vaccination rates. But, everything points to the fact that even with Omicron, if you get vaccinated, you get some protection against serious illness and that’s what we should be targeting,” she added.
“The Monday area is recovering. There has been a recovery after Delta (variant). There is a recovery after opening but it’s not done, it’s not complete. There is a huge gap between where India would be without the pandemic and where it would be. So there is still a need to keep short-term fiscal policy accommodative,” she said NDTV.
“But at the same time, you’re also communicating how you’re going to consolidate in the medium term. How are you going to get the house in order in the medium term? Similarly, for monetary policy, watch very closely. closely on inflation,” said Ms. Gopinath, soon to be Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.
“And last thing, ensure that there is enough spending on health, education. India has made good investments in physical and digital infrastructure, she said, but still needs more.
She also stated that major announcements have been made on the topic of climate change but that “very ambitious” policies will be required to achieve those goals.
Furthermore, the IMF’s Chief Economist praised the privatization of the Air India Center and called it a “very good step”.
