Demonetisation was not required at all: Manmohan Singh

September 23, 2017 00:04

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the economy is on a "downhill path" because of the "adventure" of demonetisation undertaken last year which was not required at all, either technically or economically.

Singh, a renowned economist considered to be the architect of the reforms of early 1990s, said demonetisation has not been successful in any civilised country, except some of the Latin American nation.

"I don't think demonetisation was at all required... I don't think it was technically, economically necessary to launch this adventure," he said.

"The economy has slowed down as I had projected a few months ago as a result of demonetization and also the fact that demonetisation has been accompanied by the GST, which is a good thing that we have done in the long term. But in the short term, there are glitches that need to be resolved. Therefore, the economy has experienced a downhill path," he

said.

There are certain things that need to be done immediately, Singh said.

"When we were in office, investment rate in the economy was 35-37 per cent but now it is less than 30 per cent. Private investment in particular is not growing," he said.

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