Modi government should go for radial reforms: Meghnad Desai

Noted economist Meghnad Desai asked the Narendra Modi government to go full-steam with radical reforms and move beyond the "moderate, doing just incremental reforms" in the last 10 months.

He also said India can achieve 8.5% growth over next the few years only if the government brings in more reforms in ease of doing business and create better skilled workforce.

"I think they (the Modi regime) are quite moderate while going for incremental reforms. They are not making any radical changes, rather they are making steady changes," he said.

Desai, a life peer of the House of Lords and the professor emeritus at the London School of Economics, was in the city in to announce a new course at the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics.

On the controversial Land Act, he said: "Modi should take the Opposition into confidence as no ruler can bring in reforms without taking the Opposition into confidence.

"Reforms can take place through consensus only in a democratic country like ours," he said.

On labour reforms, he said the sector also "can't be done at the national level and so the Modi government must talk to all the states for this."

"Modi will be able to achieve 8.5 percent growth if he eases doing business. Also, we need to have better skilled workforce to have higher, sustainable growth rate," Desai said.

He also strongly opposed deliberately weakening the rupee to help a particular section of the business, saying: "I am against any exchange rate manipulation by the RBI. I strongly believe that it must be driven by the market and don't try to buy them."