‘Bizarre’ for world to incur more debt to deal with high debt: NK Singh

NK Singh, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, commented on the global debt crisis during the launch of his new book, Endeavours: An Ensemble of My Life. He described the notion that "the prescription to deal with more debt is to incur more debt" as "bizarre" amid the "severe crisis of multiple kinds" the world is experiencing.

At the event, Minouche Shafik, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and President of Columbia University, addressed the disparities in how advanced economies and emerging nations manage their debt. She noted that the former are politically incapable of addressing their fiscal situation, while the latter face more scrutiny from markets.

Shafik raised concerns about the sustainability of Japan's debt levels and predicted that entrenched vested interests in many countries would resist change until a crisis forces a shift in political priorities.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar linked the global economic model's evolution to the Non-Aligned Movement and Group of 77, which he described as the political backdrop to these economic changes. He highlighted that the world has undergone a "course correction" since the reforms of 1991-92, with foreign policy also needing adjustments alongside economic reforms.

Jaishankar acknowledged that while parts of the old political structure need to be reinvented, the Global South concept represents a recharged and rethought vision for the future.