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Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday flagged the concentration of large and well-rated companies in the bond market for raising funds, and said there is a need to enable mid-sized firms to access markets "systematically and affordably". There is also a need to increase liquidity in the markets, and investors need to shed the tendency of holding papers till maturity, Nageswaran said. The "double-engine" of bond markets and bank funding will help provide the required financial support for a growing economy like India going forward, he said. Amid wider calls for self-reliance in the economic sphere, the academician-turned-policymaker made it clear that domestic money should "anchor" the funding in the Indian debt markets, and foreign flows should "complement" it. "The challenge today is not the absence of a debt market but its concentration. Large and highly rated firms raise capital with ease. The task ahead is to enable mid-sized corporates, infrastructure SPVs, sup
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Wednesday said the Indian economy has responded quite satisfactorily to global headwinds, and exuded confidence that real GDP growth is likely to touch 7 per cent in FY26. Speaking at the India Maritime Week here, Nageswaran said three global rating agencies have recently upgraded their ratings on India, and if the country continues on the same track, India can "soon" break into the 'A' rating category. The academic-turned-policy advisor said the resilience shown by the economy, coupled with measures by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), places the Indian economy in a "comfortable position". "We should be quite satisfied with the way the Indian economy has responded to global uncertainties this year, and the tariff-related developments as well," he said. The policy measures, including relief in income tax and the recent GST rationalization "have combined to improve the economic growth prospects for this year to near or
Peak power demand is unlikely to touch the projected 277 GW this summer as intermittent rains have reduced the use of cooling appliances such as air conditioners, a top government official said on Friday. "No, I don't think that it (peak power demand) will go to that level now. If this kind of rain continues, then it will not reach," Ghanshyam Prasad, the Chairperson of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) told PTI on the sidelines of BNEF Summit in the national capital. The regulatory body chief was responding to a question whether the peak power demand would touch the projected level of 277 GW. The CEA formulates short-term and perspective plans for the development of the electricity system, and coordinates the activities of the planning agencies. The government had projected 277 gigawatt (GW) of peak power demand for 2025-26. Various government sources had expected the peak demand to hit the 277 GW level by September. Prasad also said that 277 GW was not a target, but a projecti
State-owned SECI on Thursday invited bids for setting up a 2,000 MW solar project with co-located energy storage systems in India. In February, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) issued an advisory on co-locating energy storage systems with solar power projects, a move aimed at enhancing the cost efficiency and stability of the grid. As per the bid document on the SECI website, the selection of a solar power developer (SPD) for the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) grid-connected project with 1000 MW/4000 MWh Energy Storage Systems (ESS) will be under a tariff-based competitive bidding (SECI-ISTS-XX) process. Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is a nodal agency for auctioning renewable energy projects. The last date to submit online bid is July 22, and for offline it is July 24, 2025. The bids will be opened on July 25. "The projects shall be located at the locations chosen by the bidder/SPD at its own
Ongoing tariff war triggered by reciprocal tariff by the Trump Administration provides an opportunity for India in some sectors, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Thursday. Addressing the CII Annual Business Meet here, he said India actually has a few silver linings which include low energy prices at the moment. Besides, he said, "regardless of how the tariff numbers will play out after 90-day expiration from the Liberation Day on April 2, or the 90 days given to China from May 12, etc, there will be some sectors where India did not enjoy an advantage before, it may enjoy an advantage later. That's also an opportunity from tariff perspective". The US on April 2 imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, but later suspended it for 90 days till July 9. However, Indian goods still attract the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed by America. Meanwhile, both India and the US are in discussions to close a bilateral trade agreement. Both sides
India is ready to meet the expected peak power demand of 270 GW this summer taking steps like mandating 17GW imported coal plants to run at full capacity till April and asking hydro projects to conserve water to meet sudden surge, a senior official said on Tuesday. Besides, the country will have 10GW to 12GW power from gas-based plants and there will be a tie-up of another 1.8GW from such capacities. Talking to PTI on the sidelines of 'Lineman Diwas', Chairman of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Ghanshyam Prasad said,"We are expecting a peak demand of 270 Gigawatt in the summer. All the preparations are in place to meet that demand." He said that new capacity of about 32GW has been added through renewables. "The government will utilise all its capacity for addressing the demand. There is special focus on removing all shortages, particularly in April, May, June and in September-October. These months are crucial with respect to the power demand," he stressed. Power plants on impo
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Tuesday said India should have a modern, responsive regulatory framework to create a growth-conducive investment climate, as FDI inflows get impacted due to pressure on global growth. Addressing the Post Budget Webinar 2025 titled 'Making India Investment Friendly, Nageswaran said India has emerged as the preferred investment destination as evidenced from gross FDI inflows. "We need to focus on improving regulatory clarity, easing business operation and making sure that plumbing of regulatory framework corresponds with broader vision (of reforms)," he said. Nageswaran said it is very clear that growth will come under pressure across the world considering the actions taken by various governments over the past one month. He said India has to do whatever it can domestically to sustain the "mood of constructive optimism" within the country. He said a robust investment climate is necessary, particularly when global FDI flows are likely to
Gold will remain relevant for investors as a portfolio diversification mechanism with a "likely ascending importance" as an asset class in the coming years, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday. Speaking at the IGPC-IIMA annual gold and gold markets conference 2025, he said that gold will remain relevant not only as a store of value, as an ornament for cultural and religious purposes, but also as an important portfolio diversification mechanism "until such a time the world is able to arrive at an international monetary system from the current international monetary non-system". "That day of reckoning is very difficult for any one of us to prophecy at this stage," Nageswaran said. The value of gold has increased by over USD 200 per ounce or 8 per cent in the last three months to USD 2,860 per ounce. At the same time, the indian stock markets have fallen over 8 per cent over the last three months. Since 2002, the value of the precious yellow metal is up 10 times