Stressing that a �deep and prolonged economic slowdown� was �inevitable� in India, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday spelled out three steps that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government should immediately take to stem the damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

In an e-mail interaction with the BBC, Congress leader Manmohan Singh said that economic slowdown in the country is �a humanitarian crisis� and that the �government�s shock and awe approach to the lockdown has caused tremendous pain to people.� �Perhaps a lockdown at that stage was an inevitable choice. The suddenness of the announcement and the stringency of the lockdown were thoughtless and insensitive,� Singh said.

The former prime minister also laid out three steps he believed can restore economic normalcy in the coming years. According to Singh, the government must �ensure people�s livelihoods are protected and they have spending power through significant direct cash assistance�. The Centre must also make adequate capital available for businesses through �government-backed credit guarantee programmes�. Lastly, Singh said, the government should fix the financial sector through �institutional autonomy and processes.�

Talking about direct cash transfers, Manmohan Singh said �high borrowing� is inevitable. He acknowledged that it would increase India�s debt to GDP ratio, but if borrowing �can save lives, borders, restore livelihoods and boost economic growth, then its worth it�, he said. �We must not be shy of borrowing but we must be prudent on how we use that borrowing,� the BBC quoted Singh as saying.

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Dr Manmohan Singh also warned against India following some other nations in becoming more protectionist � imposing high trade barriers duties on imports. India�s trade policy over the last three decades had brought �enormous economic gains to not just the top but across all sections of our population�, he said. �I do not want to use words like �depression� in a cavalier fashion,� Dr Singh said, but a �deep and prolonged economic slowdown� was �inevitable�.

The Indian economy was already struggling to grow before Covid. The GDP grew at 4.2% in 2019-20, its slowest pace in nearly a decade. Many economists have formed a consensus over an economic contraction in India in nominal terms, �which if it happens, will be the first time in independent India,� Singh said.

�I hope the consensus is wrong,� he added.

The country is now gradually unlocking its economy after a prolonged lockdown. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Rs 20 lakh crore package to cushion the impact of the pandemic on the economy.