CEA

"Free is the most expensive word in public policy," Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday, warning that building infrastructure on the promise of below-cost services is a contradiction that ultimately ruins economic balance sheets. Addressing the CII Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Summit 2026 here, Nageswaran said the prevailing political orthodoxies surrounding utility pricing, urban development, and infrastructure financing exact a heavy toll. The CEA pointed out that pricing vital utilities like water at zero leads society to treat them as limitless, invariably resulting in waste and destruction. "The thing we call free is the thing we destroy. This is not a paradox, it is a policy choice and it can be chosen differently," he noted. He systematically debunked the notion that such underpricing acts as a social safety net. Instead, Nageswaran argued that free water effectively subsidises "comfortable" households that already possess piped connections. Meanwhi

Eleven pumped storage projects with a combined capacity of 15,870 MW are under construction and are scheduled for commissioning between December 2026 and May 2032

CEA Chairman Ghanshyam Prasad says hydropower and pumped storage projects will underpin India's renewable energy expansion, with approvals and clearances being expedited

Highlighting the evolution of India's GCC ecosystem, the CEA said multinational companies initially came to India for lower costs but stayed because of the country's capabilities

The Central Electricity Authority has urged states and discoms to strengthen planning, preventive maintenance and demand forecasting to minimise summer power outages and load shedding

Pension savings, being among the longest-duration and most patient forms of capital, can play a key role in building infrastructure and supporting India's journey towards Viksit Bharat while generating returns aligned with long-term liabilities, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday. A deep and well-governed pension pool can contribute to the creation of a developed India by supporting growth-oriented investments while ensuring liability-aware returns for subscribers, he said while addressing an event organised by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Nageswaran highlighted that pension funds globally have faced funding challenges, particularly in the past when low interest rates pushed investors towards riskier assets. "The funding gap has long plagued Western pension funds and narrowed somewhat as interest rates moved away from the zero-flow environment. However, a subtle risk has emerged," he said. Pension funds have increasingly moved

West Asia crisis may weigh on FY27 outlook, says Nageswaran

The CEA wants a new fixed-charge framework to help discoms recover costs, but experts say tariff redesign cannot replace operational and regulatory reforms

Large companies must ensure timely release of payments to micro and small enterprises to ease their working capital needs and reduce cost of funds, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday. Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit, Nageswaran said large companies should accept invoices presented by micro, small and medium enterprises and make payments on time. "Larger enterprises in the country have to pledge to contribute to relieving the working capital requirements of micro and small enterprises. Micro, small, and medium enterprises are the source of working capital for large enterprises. It should be the reverse. And because these enterprises have a much higher cost of capital," Nageswaran said. Freeing working capital for MSMEs would create a "successful, positive bandwidth" in terms of innovation, Nageswaran said. India has a huge pool of MSMEs with many struggling to scale up and integrate better into the global value chain. He said the government has ma

India's digital public infrastructure (DPI) has achieved world-class scale, but challenges relating to digital access, data governance, interoperability and cyber security remain areas of concern, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Friday. Addressing an ICRIER event on "Digital Public Infrastructure & Public Service Delivery", Nageswaran said large sections of the population, particularly the elderly, people living in areas with poor connectivity and those with low literacy and limited digital fluency, still face barriers in accessing digital services. "Digital infrastructure, however sophisticated, is not the same as digital inclusion in the fullest sense. The last great challenge of ensuring that those who most need services are also those who can most easily access them through digital means, that remains an ongoing effort," Nageswaran said. He said legislative and institutional framework in the area of data sharing and digital records is still ...

The CEA argued that India's substantial refining capacity significantly mitigates the challenges of its high crude oil import dependence

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Saturday said India needs to create strategic buffers in the face of the "most difficult" energy shock that the country is facing amid the West Asia crisis. Nageswaran also said the rising prices of fertiliser and petroleum products globally due to the crisis will make it challenging to achieve the 4.3 per cent fiscal deficit target for the current fiscal, while below normal monsoon and pass-through of higher energy prices could lead to "potential inflation spike". He also said India has employment challenge emanating from AI, and there is a need to ensure that IT sector becomes more competitive and not lose jobs to AI, and instead create jobs that use AI within the IT sector or in other services. Speaking at the ICPP Growth Conference organised by the Ashoka University, Nageswaran said the current account deficit (CAD) in the current fiscal could rise to over 2 per cent of GDP, from less than 1 per cent in FY'26. "The ... priority for

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran calls for productivity gains to counter energy shocks from West Asia, highlights role of digital public infrastructure in building economic resilience

A government panel has proposed financial incentives to promote green switchgear adoption, citing high costs and evolving technology, and to reduce dependence on imports

Projects worth ₹5 lakh crore are underway to strengthen transmission capacity as India targets 500 GW non-fossil capacity, amid challenges such as right-of-way and supply constraints

Economy continues to maintain strong growth momentum, supported by broad-based activities, says CEA Nageswaran

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran said India must urgently align AI adoption with education reform and skill development, calling for political will and national commitment to harness its benefits

Nageswaran warned that without careful and calibrated action, rapid technological change could create social and economic instability

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran says India can grow 6.8-7.2% in FY27 despite global uncertainty, citing domestic reforms, resilient consumption and strong fundamentals

Economic Survey flags behaviour, not culture, as key to urban order, showing how rule-based metro systems shape civic discipline better than laws alone