Need for reforms, country must prepare for structural changes:CEA
New Delhi, Mar 15 : Saying that difficult changes lie ahead for the global economy, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India Raghuraman G Rajan today said the country must prepare for structural changes as the United States and the European Union find new avenues to spur growth.
Speaking at the 'India Today Conclave' here, Mr Raman said these countries will turn to nations like, India and Brazil as new areas of growth.
Stating that the safety nets created by the country were a very large programme of about Rs 50,000 crore, Mr Raman said mere pumping of money was not enough and better implementation by filling up the leakages was needed.
There was a need for better targeting of subsidies as substantial money doled out by the government flows from the middle class to the middle class.
The other panellist in the session was Dr Abhijit Banerjee, Economics Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who along with Dr Raman gave a bird's eye view of the recent global crisis.
The two renowned economists saw difficult times ahead for the West as the recession in the United States continues and Europe maintains its low growth rate with many of the economies contracting.
They felt that the global economy is in for hard times as structural changes unfold, with no country being in a position to take anything for granted.