Blame the pandemic for Modi's economic woes.

The rise of divisiveness and hate is eroding trust. Hate and economics do not go together. It is true and I agree.

But can there be a direct co-relation between the slowdown of economic growth in India and a set of incidents that exemplify hate? I am afraid there is none.

Kaushik Basu, US-based economist and a columnist of this newspaper, made a sweeping statement in a tweet recently, indicating a direct link between the present economic plight and the politics of hate roiling the country.

Basu, who was formerly chief economist at the World Bank, said in the tweet: 'India's growth has collapsed from over +10% in 2010 to around -10% in 2020.

This is so rare; observers worldwide are puzzled.

My hypothesis: There's evidence that growth depends on not just economic policy but on trust in society.

The rise of divisiveness and hate is eroding trust.' In this there is direct insinuation that erosion of trust caused by rising divisiveness is somehow responsible for the present economic collapse.

I would like to argue there is no evidence as of now to prove that poor economic numbers in India are caused by an atmosphere of hate said to have been fostered by the present Hindu right-wing government.

Good law and order, corruption-free and red tape-free bureaucracy, rules-based governance and good infrastructure - these are what we need to provide a conducive atmosphere for industries to thrive.

This is accepted wisdom. But there is no evidence to prove things have gotten worse on these fronts in India in the recent years.

Obviously, these factors were not the cause of negative headwinds that haemorrhaged the economy in the pre-pandemic era.

It is well-known that the Indian economy was going through a rough patch even before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

A series of missteps starting with demonetisation during the first term of the present government led to the slowdown of the economy.

Bad rollout of GST, restrictions on cash transactions and overzealous implementation of income tax laws in unorganised sectors led to fewer transactions in real estate and vehicle sectors.

This point had been laboured at length in this space before.

Just when the Indian government was course correcting and turning the corner on these issues, the Covid-19 struck completely, upending all chances of economy getting back its mojo.

After months of negative growth and 'technical' recession, things are now looking up with Covid-19 infections declining and vaccines on the...