Remembering Sunil Jain – the editor whose economic astuteness is irreplaceable

Sunil Jain at The Monetary Specific workplace. (Specific picture)

By Sajjid Z Chinoy, 

In his trademark type, Sunil was at all times first off the blocks. Weeks earlier than the Finances –typically months—he would request a Finances Day op-ed for the Monetary Specific. This 12 months was no totally different. Sadly, I wasn’t in a position to honour his request this time, due to work commitments on Finances Day. So, once I wrote concerning the Finances in one other newspaper every week later, he shot again in his characteristically witty method: “very good piece…pity it was within the incorrect newspaper”. He was, in fact, solely joking—signing off with a naughty smile. I replied the subsequent piece would positively be for him, which he enthusiastically welcomed. 4 months later, it’s unfathomable to assume that piece wouldn’t be for Sunil, however about him. Such is the incomprehensible and surreal actuality that has characterised our existence for the final 15 months.

I knew Sunil for a decade, and that too professionally—a shorter and totally different relationship than his shut pals and acquaintances—however, regardless of that, a 900-word op-ed seems insufficient to do justice to his distinctive and quintessential traits: a exceptional astuteness about economics and coverage, a burning ardour about attending to the underside of issues, and an unflinching need to say what he felt was proper for the nation, inevitably laced with an unusual directness. Anybody that knew Sunil would have guessed that his mental curiosity and zeal can be in overdrive when confronted with an existential disaster akin to COVID. True to type, Sunil was in his aspect during the last 12 months: churning out incisive op-ed after op-ed, on each essential concern of the day.

His astuteness is obvious in his early recognition {that a} robust fiscal response was crucial not simply to carry the economic system collectively in the course of the disaster, however to safeguard macroeconomic stability thereafter. That India’s Debt/Dynamics depended extra on medium time period development than they did on the precise tempo of fiscal normalisation. That India wanted to develop its approach out of this disaster and authorities spending was key to minimising scarring. That, counter-intuitively, fiscal conservatism may very well be counterproductive to fiscal sustainability. And so he wrote op-ed after op-ed making these linkages and arguing for a powerful fiscal response from early on within the disaster. The newest GDP print which confirmed that authorities spending was key to propping up development within the January-March quarter would have vindicated a few of his writings.

The astuteness was additionally on show when—opposite to the widespread notion that India’s intercontinental measurement ought to reflexively argue for the primacy of home demand—he recognised the criticality of exports. That exports have been the lynchpin of India’s development burst within the first decade of this millennial. That no rising market had grown with out robust export development. That there was a symbiotic relationship between imports and exports, such that streamlining the previous was key to success with the latter. True to type, he prolifically turned out piece after piece fervently arguing for the urgency of stoking export development and situating this crucial amidst the broader constituents of GDP: C+I+G+X-M. After I joked that his financial acuity was going to place skilled economists out of labor, he shot again with attribute nonchalance and humility: “I’m only a good notice taker!”

His ardour got here via in nearly the whole lot he wrote and was significantly on show on vaccination coverage in current months. One in all his final columns entitled “That Little Factor Referred to as Economics”, successfully grew to become a “Microeconomics 101” class—augmented with provide and demand curves and shaded triangles depicting deadweight losses. One may nearly envision Professor Jain animatedly strolling round a classroom pleading together with his viewers to see the sunshine. Agree or disagree with Sunil, he left the whole lot on the sector.

His ardour additionally got here via when he sometimes met overseas buyers—who have been eager to elicit his ideas on the economic system—in individual in New Delhi, within the pre-COVID days. Inevitably, a one-hour lunch spilled over into twice the agreed time as a result of a passionate Sunil was reeling off information and figures that had his listeners captivated. After all, no such assembly ended with out Sunil espousing a powerful view on the subject!

In the end, his need to embrace what’s greatest for the nation was mirrored in his non-ideological method to economics. His writings are testimony that he couldn’t be lazily bucketed right into a liberal or conservative stereotype. He was equally comfy calling for elevated authorities spending and revenue help to forestall scarring of households and SMEs, as he was for sounding a clarion name for privatisation and extra market-friendly reforms.

This comes via starkly in his final pre-budget column, “5 Issues to Choose the Finances By” whereby he batted for “expenditure development to be excessive, a variety of privatisation, no new cesses, large infra-push and 1991-style sweeping reform”. This simply confirms Sunil wasn’t constrained by tying his mast to anybody financial philosophy. As a substitute, at all times knowledgeable by information, he passionately advocated what he thought was greatest for the nation at that time limit.

For the readers of Sunil’s much-followed “Rational Expectations” column, there’s nothing rational nor anticipated about his premature departure. Whether or not you agreed together with his views or not—and there was typically lots to disagree with—Sunil’s distinctive mixture of exceptional astuteness, ardour and frankness is irreplaceable. All that the remainder of us can now do is proceed championing the numerous worthy causes that he so passionately espoused.

(The author is chief India economist, J.P. Morgan. Views are private.)