People know ground reality better than coterie in Prime Minister's Office: Raghuram Rajan

Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said that there is a need for dialogue in a democracy and that often people know what the ground realities are better than coterie sitting in the PM's office.

Speaking to NDTV, Rajan said that though India's growth figures are higher than many nations, it needs more growth on account of its population, "as it is insufficient for the kind of jobs we need."

Saying that 7 per cent growth is not something to sneer at, Rajan said, "a lot of this growth is jobless growth. Jobs are essentially 'task one' for the economy. We don't need everybody to be a software programmer or consultant but we need decent jobs".

Read | Zero probability of India getting into recession or stagflation: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Rajan also said that there is a need for dialogue in a democracy, saying that a number of decisions were made without wide consultation in the last few years, taking the example of demonetisation and the controversial three farm Bills. "In a democracy, it works when you have a dialogue. It need not be an endless dialogue... And often people know what the ground realities are better than coterie sitting in the PM's office," he told NDTV.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Monday said that India is facing no risk of recession or stagflation as macroeconomic fundamentals of the economy are strong.

The BJP had on Sunday said that decisions taken by the Narendra Modi government to handle the economy have turned out to be correct, with even its critics acknowledging that.

The comments came a day after Rajan said India is not facing the kind of problems which have hit Sri Lanka and Pakistan. India has adequate forex reserves and its foreign debt is also relatively low.

Speaking about being labelled a "critic," Rajan said, "I try to offer a balanced view, but balance also often requires criticism. There is a view from this government that only those who constantly clap are in the right, because the government does no wrong. Every government does wrong."

"I have criticised the UPA government when I was not part of the establishment and I have worked with the previous NDA government. I have no reason to be excessively critical. At the same time, some criticism is warranted. So don't label people who offer some criticism as 'critics'," he said.