CEA Nageswaran Says Economic Indicators Reflect Strong Performance by Indian Economy

Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V. Anantha Nageswaran has attested that the Indian economy remains on a robust growth trajectory, though economic uncertainty everywhere in the world.

Speaking during an interaction with an audience at Ashoka University, Nageswaran stated, "India's economy is in good shape despite challenging global environment. While the final number for FY25 will be available in May, current indicators suggest we are progressing well."

He noted that the most important areas of attention in ensuring growth include providing affordable energy, facilitating jobs through clean energy transition, and facilitating manufacturing and small and medium-sized businesses. Nageswaran also emphasized the need for artificial intelligence, education, and skill acquisition in the workforce to facilitate future economic growth.

Emphasizing the need for a balanced approach, the CEA emphasized maintaining macroeconomic stability—mainly through containment of inflation—while going ahead with inclusive growth policies.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, also addressing the meeting, charted India's overall development objectives, with the vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047.

"India has recorded a steady 6.5 per cent three-decade growth rate, and I believe it's incredible. It indicates institutional flexibility and some institutional maturity in India," Bery said.

He further added that ongoing global turmoil could pose strategic challenges to India, especially through its youth, technology advances, and changing geopolitical trends.

India is likely to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world, and projections indicate that it will be the only country to record growth above 6 per cent in the next two years, as per a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.

IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said, "Our April 2025 World Economic Outlook foresees significantly weaker world growth at 2.8 per cent in 2025 with growth downgrades for 127 countries accounting for 86 per cent of world GDP."

In spite of the worldwide slowdown, India will grow at 6.2 per cent in 2025 and further pick up pace to 6.3 per cent in 2026, the IMF predicted. These are far higher than China's projections, which has been predicted to grow 4 per cent in 2025 and 4.6 per cent in 2026.

The United States, which is at the epicenter of much of the recent global trade tensions, is also expected to have its growth decelerate to 1.8 per cent this year, and then again to 1.7 per cent in 2026, according to the IMF forecasts.