‘Social Agenda Has To Be Central To The Country; It Can’t Be A Side-Show’

Development economist Abhijit Banerjee, professor at the Massa­chu­setts Institute of Technology, is a close tracker of the Indian economy. He is the co-author of the award-winning work, Poor Eco­nomics, along with Esther Duflo. Excerpts from an interview with Lola Nayar:

How does the Indian economy look today from an international vantage point? Is it, as many feel, at an inflection point after two years of lacklustre growth?

There is a small financial community which is carefully watching. But it will take time and some specific implemented policy changes before the consensus emerges that things have really changed.

Is the BJP’s victory in the 2014 elections a mandate for a shift in focus in the Indian economy, as some people feel?

There was no serious concern with growing inequality of wealth under the UPA government. There was a concern with reducing poverty, but not inequality. It is a concern no government can afford to...