<p>India will "struggle" to achieve 5 per cent GDP growth in 2020 as the significant deceleration in past few quarters was largely owing to credit squeeze which is a cyclical problem, said noted American economist Steve Hanke.</p>.<p>Hanke, who currently teaches applied economics at Johns Hopkins University (USA), pointed out that India experienced an unsustainable credit boom, and now the chickens are coming to roost with a massive pile of non-performing loans piled up, primarily at the state-owned banks.</p>.<p>"The slowdown in India is related to a credit squeeze, which is a cyclical problem - not a structural problem... As a result, India will struggle to make a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent in 2020," he told PTI in an interview.</p>.<p>He also noted that India is already highly protectionist.</p>.<p>India, which till recently was hailed as the world's fastest-growing major economy, has seen growth rate decline to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent in the September quarter of 2019-20.</p>.<p>This has largely been attributed to the slowdown in investment that has now broadened into consumption, driven by financial stress among rural households and weak job creation.</p>.<p>Hanke, who had served on former US President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers further said that Modi government has failed to make any big economic reforms.</p>.<p>Hanke opined that Modi government seems to have little interest in making tough and required economic reforms.</p>.<p>"Instead, Modi government has focus on two things that are destabilising and potentially explosive: ethnicity and religion.</p>.<p>"This is a deadly cocktail. Indeed, many believe that under Modi, India is already being transformed from the 'world's largest democracy' into the 'world's largest police state'," the eminent economist, who is also a senior fellow and director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in Washington said.</p>.<p>E-mail queries sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking comments did not elicit any response.</p>
<p>India will "struggle" to achieve 5 per cent GDP growth in 2020 as the significant deceleration in past few quarters was largely owing to credit squeeze which is a cyclical problem, said noted American economist Steve Hanke.</p>.<p>Hanke, who currently teaches applied economics at Johns Hopkins University (USA), pointed out that India experienced an unsustainable credit boom, and now the chickens are coming to roost with a massive pile of non-performing loans piled up, primarily at the state-owned banks.</p>.<p>"The slowdown in India is related to a credit squeeze, which is a cyclical problem - not a structural problem... As a result, India will struggle to make a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent in 2020," he told PTI in an interview.</p>.<p>He also noted that India is already highly protectionist.</p>.<p>India, which till recently was hailed as the world's fastest-growing major economy, has seen growth rate decline to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent in the September quarter of 2019-20.</p>.<p>This has largely been attributed to the slowdown in investment that has now broadened into consumption, driven by financial stress among rural households and weak job creation.</p>.<p>Hanke, who had served on former US President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers further said that Modi government has failed to make any big economic reforms.</p>.<p>Hanke opined that Modi government seems to have little interest in making tough and required economic reforms.</p>.<p>"Instead, Modi government has focus on two things that are destabilising and potentially explosive: ethnicity and religion.</p>.<p>"This is a deadly cocktail. Indeed, many believe that under Modi, India is already being transformed from the 'world's largest democracy' into the 'world's largest police state'," the eminent economist, who is also a senior fellow and director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in Washington said.</p>.<p>E-mail queries sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking comments did not elicit any response.</p>