India needs looser fiscal policy to boost growth

IN 2014, the year Narendra Modi became prime minister of India, the country enjoyed gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.5 per cent. The economy continued to grow at a robust rate, exceeding 8 per cent in 2015 and 7.1 per cent last year, outperforming China on both occasions.

But 2017 has shown a marked slowdown, with the annualised growth rate for April to June falling to 5.7 per cent. This deceleration means Mr Modi, for the firs…