Kerala has been experiencing a persistent, acute and unprecedented fiscal crisis. Kerala’s government expenditure has seen a significant rise, with 78 per cent of its revenue income being spent in the fiscal year 2018-19. The fiscal deficit has also escalated from 2.4 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.1 per cent in 2021-2022.The defaulting on salaries is a pointer to the severity of the financial crisis that the state has been going through. Kerala government has blamed the Union government of choking it financially . In this context,the Department of Economics in association with Sevana Library,Nochima Edathala has organised a panel discussion on KERALA ECONOMY: CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS on 11 th March 2024 in seminar hall of the College. Three eminent experts in public finance ,Dr,Martin Patric( Chairman CPPR Cochi),Dr.Rajesh KR(Assistant Professor.KUFOS ,Cochi )and Dr.Justin George ,Assistant Professor,Department of Economics,St. Pauls College Kalamassery have presented their views. The Panel discussion was a productive one which provided the participants an idea about the real cause for present fiscal crisis of Kerala .
OBJECTIVES OF PANEL DISCUSSION
- To give a picture to the participants about present economic condition of Kerala economy
- To analyze reasons and factors which lead to present fiscal crisis.
- To study the short and long term impact on different sections of the society if this this crisis stays for a long time .
- To get thorough knowledge about budgetary policies and other programmes suggested to overcome this crisis.
The panel discussion had three phases – Presentation by experts, session led by Moderator and interactive segment with participants. Dr.Indu. G ,Vice Principal ,Al Ammen College Edathala has inaugurated the programme. Dr.Shaniba M H ,Head of Department explained the objectives of the programme and proposed warm welcome to all participants. The discussion started with the presentation by Dr.Martin Patric .In his analysis the main reason for the present economic crisis is selective fedaralism and inapropriate tax collection by the state .He suggested that the state should curtail extravagant expenditure and take effective steps for tax collection.
The second presentation was delivered by Dr.Justin George who highlighted that as per RBI Report Kerala is among the five states which has substantial public liability. He attributed the fiscal crisis primarily to an increasing revenue deficit, the state’s failure to collect GST effectively, and shortcomings in boosting revenue from taxes such as stamp duty and sales tax. The moderator Dr.Rajesh KR intervened the discussion and also expressed his views. In his opinion the better financial management by the state could have produced better results.
Mr.K A Basheer former President, Edathala Grama Panchayath ,Mr.KA Shamsudeen , Sevana Library, Mr.Nithyan ,Reporter Desabhimani and other eminent personalities from various walks of life also have expressed their views on the subject. The participants raised queries and expressed doubts to the resource persons. Dr. Abdul Hakkeem PM, Convener of the Organizing Committee, delivered the vote of thanks. He extended his sincere gratitude to Sevana Library for their enthusiastic support in organizing programs on various socio-economic issues.
