What are the 5 steps suggested by Manmohan Singh to revive economy?

New Delhi, Sep 12: Stressing firmly on structural reforms and identifying sectors that can generate mass jobs, former prime minister Manmohan Singh lashed out at the BJP-led government for wasting its historic mandate by not focusing on economic growth.

He pointed to his own record at steering the economy successfully, first as a finance minister and later as the PM, and said the economy has come to a grinding halt now because of a "man-made crisis".

Dr Singh, an eminent economist himself, said predicted that this slowdown would be 'prolonged' as it is cyclical as well as structural. The former prime minister once again termed the demonetisation as a 'monumental blunder'.

"We cannot deny that India is facing an economic crisis. Already, a lot of time has been lost. Instead of wasting its political capital by adopting a sector-wise piecemeal approach, or on monumental blunders like demonetisation, the time has now come for the government to carry out the next generation of structural reforms and promote sectors that can generate mass jobs," Singh said in interviews to Dainik Bhaskar and the Hindu Business Line.

Earlier this month, the government had reported that the GDP growth rate had dipped to a six-year low of 5 per cent during the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal.

The former prime minister suggested five steps to revive the economy:

1. Rationalisation of GST, even if it leads to a loss in revenue in the short term.
2. Focus on increasing rural consumption and reviving the agriculture sector. He said the government can take clues from Congress manifesto, which lays down several measures to free up the agriculture market.
3. Liquidity crisis needs to be addressed. He said that not only public sector banks but NBFCs are also suffering.
4. Revive major job-generating sectors such as textile, auto, electronics and subsidised housing. He said easy loans need to be provided for this purpose, especially to MSMEs.
5. Government needs to identify new export markets opening up due to the ongoing trade war between the US and China.