Raghuram Rajan says focus of the government should be on starting people’s lives first: Key points

NEW DELHI: Former governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday in a video chat with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that India needs Rs 65,000 crore to help the poor during the coronavirus-led crisis. He further added that the focus of the government should be first on starting people’s lives once it decides to end the nationwide lockdown.

Here are the key points of the conversation:

India needs Rs 65,000 crore to feed the poor during pandemic. India’s GDP is Rs 200 lakh crore, so we can afford Rs 65,000 to save the livelihood of India’s poor: Rajan

This pandemic is unprecedented. We have to break norms in order to tackle what is needed, while at the same time keeping in mind that there are only so many resources we have: Rajan to Rahul Gandh