India should take 'measured approach' with stimulus packages to deal with COVID-19: Panagariya

India should resist calls for mega relief and stimulus packages that pitch for generous availability of credit to even unviable businesses and focus on a more "measured approach" by limiting interventions to provision for working capital and ensuring basic necessities for all to deal with the impact of the COVID-19, eminent economist Arvind Panagariya has said.

The former NITI Aayog Vice Chairman said that India, like nearly all other countries in the world, faced "difficult choices" against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"So far, India has walked the tight rope as well as it could have, given its resources and management capabilities," Panagariya told PTI.

Elaborating on the path ahead for India as it navigates health and economic concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Panagariya said there have been calls for mega relief and stimulus packages from various quarters.

"The scale of some of these packages is so large as to give some sections living standards that exceed what they ...