New Delhi — India’s economy is more likely to remain resilient than become increasingly vulnerable amid renewed global uncertainty, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said Tuesday, pointing to strong bank credit growth, healthy GST collections and solid corporate and banking sector balance sheets.
Speaking to industry leaders at an ASSOCHAM Managing Committee meeting and special session, Nageswaran said renewed hostilities in West Asia and rising interest rates in major economies had brought volatility back to global markets after a relatively calm period between March and July.
He said India had entered the latest period of uncertainty from a position of strength, citing the country’s recent sovereign rating upgrade to A-, along with the mobilization of $137 billion through foreign exchange deposit swaps and external commercial borrowings.
Nageswaran also pointed to indicators including vehicle sales, e-way bill generation and export growth as signs that economic momentum remained intact.
“This is a period of churn and this is an inflection point, and therefore what served us very well in the first 45 years since independence and then the next 30 years in the liberalisation era, both of these things may not necessarily be adequate for the next 25 years. We need to raise our game in multiple respects,” Nageswaran said.
He said individuals and households would also need to focus on their mental, physical and emotional well-being, while younger people should remain open to trade skills and alternatives to conventional education as artificial intelligence changes employment patterns.
“The private sector must invest, must hire and must compensate fairly and also invest in R&D because the next 20 years is going to be very different from the last 80 years post-World War II,” he said.
Nageswaran cautioned that government policy alone could not drive the economy forward.
“Policy will play its part but policy cannot be the only instrument that drives the economy forward,” he said, adding that the government would “continue to remain growth supportive, maintain macroeconomic stability and pursue deregulation and ease of doing business both for small and large enterprises.”
The virtual session was attended by ASSOCHAM President Nirmal K. Minda, former presidents of the chamber, senior secretariat members, council leaders and representatives from member organizations across several industries. (Source: IANS)
