The process is the key

With the need for reforms becoming more compelling, the challenge is to undertake three institutional fixes

- RAISINA HILL A K BHATTACHARYA

Thanks largely to the recent tariff initiatives of US President Donald Trump, there has been a resurgence of interest among India's economic policy experts to discuss how New Delhi should respond to the emerging challenges. This renewed interest is not just to examine how one should negotiate easier trading terms with the US or consider joining plurilateral trading arrangements and concluding free-trade agreements with regions like the European Union (EU). It is also aimed at reviewing what kind of economic reforms India should be expediting to possibly convert the looming crisis into an opportunity for stepping up its growth momentum.

A long list of reforms has begun doing the rounds among policy experts, industry bodies, and think tanks. The argument is that the government should now be focused on these reforms, which could help the Indian economy weather the economic storm in a world where Mr Trump's tariff regime is certain to slow down global trade, pull down growth rates in most countries, and even drive the US into a recession. If the fiscal and balance of payments crisis that India faced in 1991 could trigger far-reaching liberalisation across various sectors over three decades ago, 2025 could be viewed as not very different and used as an occasion to usher in the much-anticipated second-generation reforms.