World News | IMF Chief Economist Says Digitization Has Changed the Game for Indian Economy

WASHINGTON, October 13 (PTI) On Wednesday, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised India’s digitalization efforts, calling the move a game-changer as it allows the Indian government to do what would otherwise be very difficult.

“Digital is helping in multiple ways. One is financial inclusion, obviously because in countries like India there are a lot of people who are unbanked. Accessing a digital wallet is one way they can transact just cash, which is very low effective,” Pierre-Olivier Gulinchas, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, told PTI in response to a question about India’s digitization efforts.

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“I think it (digitization) enables the (Indian) government to do things that would otherwise be difficult. Yes (it changes the game). It’s certainly a very welcome development,” Gourinchas advised.

“So it’s a huge advantage in terms of bringing people into a more modern economy. That’s a factor for growth,” he said, adding that if you use this digital tool, your market will become very different.

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“The second issue that I think is also important in the context of India is that these digital tools also allow the government to access and pay for the system in ways that are sometimes harder to do with some of the conventional plumbing of safety nets,” he said.

“One of the lessons we’ve learned from the pandemic, and we’ve learned again in the energy crisis, is how we can deliver aid where it’s needed. Because just having one policy package that covers everyone is very expensive,” he said. .

Most people don’t necessarily need this, and most businesses probably don’t. But sometimes it has to because that’s the only way it can be done, he added.

“Digital promises to provide more targeted assistance when needed. This could be a game-changer as it means policies can now be more flexible. It could have less impact on the overall fiscal position. So more protection can be provided , more insurance,” Gourinchas said.

“It’s also a very important factor in supporting the economy and helping it bounce back when it’s done. All kinds of things that happen are going to be shocking and it opens up that possibility for something more agile and targeted,” he said. said in response to a question.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)