PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED POOR MORE: DAS

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the Covid-19 pandemic has severely dented inclusivity across countries. Delivering his keynote address at an AllIndia Management Association (Aima) event, Das called for a more inclusive and sustainable growth.

He said the pandemic has affected the poor and vulnerable more, especially in emerging and developing economies. “Daily wage earners, service and informal sector workers were badly hit. Their employment and income opportunities were curtailed. The lasting damage inflicted by the pandemic on these segments is of serious concern for inclusive growth. In the medium to long-run, both efficiency and equity will greatly matter for sustainable growth and macroeconomic performance.”

The impact of pandemics could be a lot more asymmetric by affecting the vulnerable segments more. “The Covid-19 pandemic is no exception. Within countries, contactintensive service sectors employing a large number of informal, low-skilled and low-wage workers have been hit harder. In several emerging and developing economies, lack of health care access has disproportionately affected the family budget of the poor. Even education which was provided online during the pandemic excluded the low income households due to the lack of requisite skills and resources. Overall, there are evidences across countries that the pandemic may have severely dented inclusivity,” Das said.

“As we recover, we must deal with the legacies of the crisis and create conditions for strong, inclusive and sustainable growth.”

Limiting the damage that the crisis inflicted was just the first step; our endeavour should be to ensure durable and sustainable growth in the post-pandemic future,” he said.