Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia surely knows a thing or two about battling a crisis, and he believes the government hasn't done enough to mitigate the impact of the pandemic-induced distress for the poor and the informal sector. "We should have done more, especially to offset the huge negative impact on the livelihoods of the poor and those in the informal sector," Ahluwalia told Cogencis in an interview.

"Not only was the fiscal component of the stimulus small, but it was offset by the contraction in government expenditure," said Ahluwalia, who had played a key role during the balance of payments crisis in 1991 and the global financial meltdown in 2008. The Indian economy is attempting a sluggish come-back from the crisis, but the pace of this recovery is still uncertain, he said.

The economist said, for India's growth to return to 7-8% achieved earlier, the government will have to address the reasons why growth slowed down before the pandemic. Many have supported the government's intent to merge state-owned banks to create stronger and fewer entities, but according to Ahluwalia, merely merging public sector banks was not equivalent to reforming the banking sector. He also weighed in on the proposal to allow large corporate and industrial houses to promote banks, saying it was not a good idea.

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