Talk on Sri Lankan economic crisis: Lessons for other developing countries at Jamia
Prof CP Chandrasekhar delivered web talk on ‘Sri Lankan Economic Crisis: Lessons for other Developing Countries’ at Dept of Economics, JMI
The Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia organised a webinar on ‘Sri Lankan Economic Crisis: Lessons for other Developing Countries’ on 28th April, 2022 at 11.30 AM. The webinar was organised to make young students and scholars aware of the havoc caused by this crisis for Sri Lanka in particular and other neighbouring nations in general. The speaker of the webinar was Prof. C.P. Chandrasekhar, Renowned Economist and Former Professor, CESP, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the department in a statement.
Prof. Asheref Illiyan, HoD, Department of Economics, inaugurated the event by briefly introducing the speaker and thanking him for agreeing to deliver lecture on a topic crucial in contemporary times.
The speaker, Prof. Chandrasekhar, commenced the session by describing the nature and cause of this crisis. The inability of the Sri Lankan economy to generate the adequate foreign exchange reserves due to the excessive import restrictions resulted in its major breakdown. As a consequence, the economy witnessed the situation of stagflation, that is, a combination of stagnant output and rising prices. Another reason for this crisis is the overdependence on production of primary commodities (rice, tea) while ignoring the others, interalia
The way forward to deal with this crisis involves a strategic course of action: Firstly, the economy must have a sound and resilient infrastructure in place. Secondly, the economy must invest in activities enhancing the foreign exchange reserves. As proposed in the World Bank Report (1993), this could be done by devaluing the domestic currency which would enable increase in exports and reduction in imports in the long run. Thirdly, emphasis on diversification of agriculture is the need of the hour to overcome this crisis. He further said that India and China have vested their strategic interest in Sri Lanka due to which the repercussions of this crisis were faced by both these economies. The aftermath of this crisis witnessed immense competition between these economies. Thus, the crisis has severely impacted Sri Lanka and its neighbouring nations in bits and pieces.
The session was followed by a Q&A and feedback session by the students and scholars. The session ended with concluding remarks and the vote of thanks proposed by Dr Bathula Srinivasu, Associate Professor, Department of Economics.
