The Covid-19 has cast a haze of doubts and confusion over the economic scenario in India. The restrictions necessary to combat the virus have severely impacted economic activity despite recent government efforts to revive the economy.
That laws, plans, and programmes do not lead to near-term results have been known for many years. Ever since the initiation of the Five Year Plans in India in 1952, the gap between promise and performance has persisted. In a country as large and diverse as India, opening of economic flood-gates does not ensure that the benefits will duly percolate to the individual farmer and farm-holding.
Partly this has been due to the growing population and partly because the basic realities of the wide-spread poverty and out-dated technology levels in many sectors, especially in agriculture. These issues were dealt with in the above-mentioned book and the need for political positions to take due account of economic realities was highlighted. Moreover even with the best of intentions, the complexities of implementation and management were not duly provided for, leading to severe economic road-blocks.
