Chief Economic Advisor

Government reviewing FDI policies as net inflows stay muted; manufacturing push and policy reforms key to attracting investment

Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said India's growth outlook remains strong, with Q2 momentum boosting expectations that GDP will exceed 7 per cent and cross $4 trillion this fiscal year

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 Tuesday said the size of Indian economy is expected to cross USD 4 trillion in current fiscal. He said with the geopolitics in a "huge state of flux", economic growth is very vital prerequisite to maintain India's standing and leverage in the global scheme of things. India currently is the fifth largest economy in the world with a GDP of around USD 3.9 trillion. Speaking at the IVCA Green Returns Summit 2025, Nageswaran said the Indian economy is already sort of crossing the USD 4 trillion mark, in the course of the current financial year, from USD 3.9 trillion at the end of March 2025. "So, whatever we do with respect to greening the economy, energy transition, environment, dealing with climate change and climate volatility have to be aligned with our priorities, both in the near term and the medium term," he said. Nageswaran said the country is well aware of the potential consequences of global warming and climate change and more ..

India's chief economic adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran says IPOs are increasingly helping early investors exit rather than supporting long-term capital formation

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran voiced concern that IPOs are increasingly serving as exit routes for early investors, diluting the purpose of public markets and long-term capital raising

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday exuded confidence that economic growth would be upwards of 6.8 per cent in the current financial year driven by consumption boost provided by GST rate cut and income tax relief. The Economic Survey tabled in parliament in January had projected real economic growth of 6.3-6.8 per cent for FY26. "Comfortable looking at a number north of 6.8 per cent now. My original range was 6.3 to 6.8 per cent (projected in Economic Survey). Back in August, we were all concerned about whether we would even go towards the lower end of the 6-7 range. "Now I think there is a lot of comfort in saying that it would be definitely north of 6.5 and I am more comfortable saying even north of 6.8 but whether I will put a 7 handle in front of it, I will wait for the second quarter numbers to come out before I move even a notch higher," Nageswaran said at CNBC-TV18's Global Leadership Summit 2025. India recorded a 7.8 per cent gross domestic product .

He further added that AI is moving in an automation-centric direction, which is likely to replace labour, instead of taking a human-centric approach

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran says India's economy is performing better than expected, with growth likely above 6.7 per cent this fiscal, aided by fiscal discipline, tax reforms, and steady inflation

At Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Nageswaran said that inflation and the rupee are stable, and fiscal discipline keeps deficits and borrowing costs under control

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

India plans to borrow 14.82 trillion rupees for the current financial year ending March 31, of which it is scheduled to borrow 6.8 trillion rupees in October-March

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday cautioned that India's path to sustainability and climate goals must not undermine its economic aspirations, stressing the very crucial and critical trade-offs in energy transition, fiscal stability, and banking soundness. Speaking at the Bengal Chamber AGM and Indo-Pacific Economic Conclave, he said India has been a standout performance among the G20 countries in mitigation, but achieving sustainability goals requires acknowledging difficult choices. For a country aspiring to become a developed economy by 2047, energy transition and dealing with climate change must not consign not just India but also other developing countries in the Indo-Pacific and Africa to a state of permanent underdevelopment, he said. Nageswaran pointed out that India's energy consumption will necessarily keep rising as our per capita incomes rise in the coming years. He termed the carbon budget allotted to developing nations arbitrary, saying it ..

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said, according to his intuition, the penal tariff was unlikely to continue beyond November 30

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran said India and the US could resolve their tariff dispute within 8-10 weeks, as both sides hold talks and look to improve ties

Chief Economic Adviser Anantha Nageswaran said the GST reforms would help counter the effect of US tariffs by stimulating domestic demand and mitigating risks to capital formation

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Anantha Nageswaran on Saturday said the central government, along with various stakeholders, are actively working overtime to cushion export sectors in view of the recent imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff by the United States. The US has imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering America from August 27. Nageswaran highlighted that crises, whether minor or major, often act as catalysts, providing focus and purpose for all segments of societyincluding the government, private sector, and householdsto undertake necessary actions that might otherwise have been delayed. Since the tariffs took effect, "Conversations have been happening in the last three to four days", involving various exporting and representative bodies, private sector export promotion agencies, and the ministry, he said. Nageswaran, speaking virtually at ICC organised event, said that the ministries and the Ministry of Finance are "working overtime" to formulate

Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran cites policy continuity, PLI success, and external resilience as key factors in India's strong 2024-25 economic performance

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) to the Indian government, V Anantha Nageswaran, on Tuesday said the country needs to prioritise areas like manufacturing, education, and employment generation to become a developed nation by 2047 and become indispensable like China. Nageswaran, delivering a lecture on the topic 'Global Economic Trends India's Challenges and Prospect' at the Raj Bhavan here, said that in the next couple of decades there will be a unpredictable, volatile and dangerous geo-political environment in the world and the geo-economic is going to be uncertain. So, the priority areas for India in the next 20-25 years should be education, skilling, good mental and physical health of the population, energy affordability and transition, rise of manufacturing, food security, increasing agriculture productivity, generating employment and increasing the rate of investments, he said. Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who presided over the event, said that 'Viksit Bharat' will

Nageswaran also said India should not be overly consumed by global uncertainty, especially with a domestic economy where private consumption accounts for 60 per cent of GDP