<p class="title">Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken many steps to support Indian entrepreneurs' dynamism but the reforms suddenly stopped halfway due to a shift in focus to political matters, which is negatively impacting the economy, according to eminent French economist Guy Sorman.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Currently, he said that both local and foreign investors are frightened and do not want to invest in India.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sorman, who has authored many books, including 'Economics Does Not Lie: A Defence of the Free Market in a time of Crisis', further said presently the temptation to turn to protectionism is strong in the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Modi initially did support the dynamism of the Indian entrepreneurs by creating a national market, fighting what is left of the Licence Raj, containing corruption, promoting Make in India.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But he suddenly stopped halfway, forgetting his own economic agenda and focusing on political matters which suddenly gave India and his government a bad name," he told PTI.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sorman, however, steered clear of the domestic political situation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I do not judge the good or bad reasons to play with Hindutva and citizenship laws, none of my business in a complicated environment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I only want to stress the negative impact on the economy at the very moment when the global economy is slowing down," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">E-mail queries sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking comments did not elicit any response.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Noting that all economists agree there is a strong link between investment and trust in institutions, Sorman said, "This trust is currently eroded at the national level, which is very sad and could have been avoided."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The economist also argued that given the importance of the informal sector and the poor quality of the statistics, the GDP measurement in India is totally unreliable.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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 class="bodytext">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 class="title">Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken many steps to support Indian entrepreneurs' dynamism but the reforms suddenly stopped halfway due to a shift in focus to political matters, which is negatively impacting the economy, according to eminent French economist Guy Sorman.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Currently, he said that both local and foreign investors are frightened and do not want to invest in India.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sorman, who has authored many books, including 'Economics Does Not Lie: A Defence of the Free Market in a time of Crisis', further said presently the temptation to turn to protectionism is strong in the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Modi initially did support the dynamism of the Indian entrepreneurs by creating a national market, fighting what is left of the Licence Raj, containing corruption, promoting Make in India.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But he suddenly stopped halfway, forgetting his own economic agenda and focusing on political matters which suddenly gave India and his government a bad name," he told PTI.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sorman, however, steered clear of the domestic political situation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I do not judge the good or bad reasons to play with Hindutva and citizenship laws, none of my business in a complicated environment.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I only want to stress the negative impact on the economy at the very moment when the global economy is slowing down," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">E-mail queries sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking comments did not elicit any response.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Noting that all economists agree there is a strong link between investment and trust in institutions, Sorman said, "This trust is currently eroded at the national level, which is very sad and could have been avoided."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The economist also argued that given the importance of the informal sector and the poor quality of the statistics, the GDP measurement in India is totally unreliable.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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 class="bodytext">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>