Summary
On the panel were Rahul Bajoria, Ankur Shukla, and Aayushi Chaudhary
Inaugural address by professor Abdul Quadir of XLRI
XLRI-Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, hosted a panel discussion on Sri Lankan Crisis- Lessons for India.
The event began with an inaugural address by professor Abdul Quadir of XLRI. He
welcomed the panel members and explained the structure of the event.
On the panel were Rahul Bajoria, chief economist, India and the Antipodes, Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank; Ankur Shukla, South Asia Economist, Bloomberg LP; and Aayushi Chaudhary, India and Sri Lanka Economist, HSBC.
Chaudhary started off by explaining the economic structure of Sri Lanka and the drivers that majorly impact the Sri Lankan economy. She explained the current problem and how deep it is by giving facts and figures to corroborate it and how COVID made the economy more disastrous since tourism is one of the important factors in generating an economy. She discussed the impact of banning fertilisers to encourage organic farming, which led to low production of grains and shortage of food. She also discussed the roles of various external and internal factors such as political crisis and suggested possible remedies.
Bajoria, the second speaker, talked about how India can learn from other countries such as Pakistan, Nepal and Maldives, which are already facing such problems. He discussed the situations that Southeast Asian Countries faced and how they were able to come up with solutions.
Citing the example of India, Bajoria explained how it overcame the problem of balance of payment by diversifying its export. He then discussed the sustainable policies and adaptable development help to have sustained growth to avoid such crisis and the lessons India could draw.
Shukla discusses various economic factors and how they can affect the country. He highlighted that the small export base of Sri Lanka is one of the prime reasons for the crisis. He then focussed on the high interest payment of the debt.
XLRI faculty H.K. Pradhan discussed the need to restructure the debt of Sri Lanka.
“Most of the loans are short-term loans, so the chances of failing to repay the loan on time is high. Sri Lanka can learn from India in developing its domestic debt market,” Pradhan said.
Last updated on 08 May 2022
