- Friday, January 24, 2025
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV, the 61-year-old economist said ‘there is a lot of continuity built into Indian policy’.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA is likely to continue with its economic policy trajectory irrespective of whether prime minister Narendra Modi wins or loses in the ongoing general elections, Raghuram Rajan, former governor of India’s central bank, has said.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday (28), the 61-year-old economist said “there is a lot of continuity built into Indian policy”.
“Whatever government comes in will take a lot of the good stuff that has been done and continue it,” he was quoted as saying.
Rajan, who served as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 2013 and 2016 and under both prime minister Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh, was speaking on the sidelines of the UBS Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
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The new government will unveil a budget soon after it takes office and it is likely to focus on “all the good stuff that is happening while trying to see what other changes have to be made”, Rajan added.
India is currently approaching the conclusion of its seven-phase general elections, the last of which will take place on Saturday (1). The results will be declared on June 4.
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Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to return to power for the third consecutive term, a feat which was last achieved in the 1960s by the current opposition Indian National Congress. The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc inclusive of the Congress is claiming that Modi will not win. Uncertainty looms about whether Modi’s Hindu nationalist party will be able to get a bigger majority compared to the 2019 elections.
Financial markets are preparing for a potential downturn should the BJP lose support, worried about the prospect of deviating from economic reforms.
Rajan said infrastructure spending seen under the Modi government was required given the huge deficiencies but that the country needs to focus on the quality of its infrastructure and ensure that the investment just doesn’t help major industrial companies.
The veteran currently teaches at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
(With Bloomberg inputs)
