India is in a very Fortunate Place Today: Surjit Singh Bhalla, IMF India
The Former Executive Director of IMF and the Chief Economist at CRISIL were speaking at the second edition of ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of India’ summit
Mumbai, 24 February 2023: India will benefit from the changed globalization as the interest rates will come down, said Surjit Singh Bhalla, Former Executive Director, IMF, at ABP Network’s second edition of ‘Ideas of India’ summit. Speaking at the summit, he highlighted that the Monetary Tightening Policy has been India’s response to inflation for the past 30-40 years.
Elaborating on the topic, ‘Crisis in the Global Economy – India’s Survival Guide’, Surjit Singh Bhalla said, “Monetary Policy has precious little to do with supply shocks and I would say now the monetary policy has precious little to do with inflation”.
Speaking on rise of India as a strong, emerging economy, he said, “China, which was a threat to the global economy, is now diminishing. However, the decline of China comes at a time with the rise of India.” He also pointed out that the quality of education and how fast India deregulates its economy will determine how fast we rise.
The panel was further enlightened by the presence of Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL. Commenting on the topic, he said, “The slowing down of Global economies will spill over to us. Our forecast is that the growth will come down from 7% in 2022-23 to around 6% next year.”
The CRISIL Chief Economist also said that the quality of labor was a constraint for India which needs to be addressed. He said, “50% of India's labor force is below Secondary School and they don't have any skills, so I think you can't fire the economy with such low skills.”
He emphasized climate change as one of the biggest risks to the Indian Economy, especially in the last 2-3 years. “From an agricultural perspective, India is probably one of the most vulnerable countries to this risk. We need to ensure that proper measures are in place to avert any supply shocks that may come our way due to climate change.”
India has been taking extensive measures toward the growth of the infrastructure and manufacturing industry. “As both these sectors are carbon intensive, the challenge for the Indian economy is to leave less carbon footprint while industrializing,” he added.
The summit promises an invigorating line-up of speakers with prominent figures from the world of business, politics, artists from the Hindi Film Industry, authors, and other eminent sectors. The two-day event primarily addresses India’s stand as a burgeoning economy and global leader in shaping the future.
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