Chief Economic Adviser Dr V Anantha Nageswaran on Tuesday, 15 September said the Indian economy is more likely to remain resilient than become vulnerable, pointing to strong bank credit growth, robust GST collections, and healthy corporate and banking sector balance sheets as the pillars of that strength. Speaking to industry leaders in New Delhi, Nageswaran framed India's current position as one of structural advantage even as global conditions grow more turbulent.

Global Headwinds in Focus

Nageswaran addressed the gathering at Assocham's Managing Committee Meeting and Special Session, noting that the resumption of hostilities in West Asia and rising interest rates across major economies — including a 10-year US Treasury yield of 5.02 per cent — had reintroduced volatility after a period of relative calm between March and July. Despite this, he argued that India had entered this phase of uncertainty from a position of strength, not fragility.

Evidence of Sustained Momentum

The CEA cited a set of high-frequency and structural indicators to support his assessment. These included India's recent sovereign rating upgrade to A-, the successful mobilisation of $137 billion through foreign exchange deposit swaps and external commercial borrowings, and positive trends in vehicle sales, e-way bill generation, and export growth. Together, he said, these data points signal continued economic momentum rather than a slowdown.

An Inflection Point for India

Nageswaran framed the current moment as a pivotal juncture. 'This is a period of churn and this is an inflection point, and therefore what served us very well in the first 45 years since independence and then the next 30 years in the liberalisation era, both of these things may not necessarily be adequate for the next 25 years. We need to raise our game in multiple respects,' he said.

He also called on individuals and households to invest in their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, and urged younger Indians to remain open to acquiring trade skills alongside conventional educational pathways, noting that artificial intelligence is already reshaping employment patterns across sectors.

What the Private Sector Must Do

'The private sector must invest, must hire and must compensate fairly and also invest in R&D because the next 20 years is going to be very different from the last 80 years post-World War II,' Nageswaran said, placing the onus on industry to drive the next leg of growth rather than relying solely on government action.

He was explicit that policy alone cannot carry the weight of economic progress. 'Policy will play its part but policy cannot be the only instrument that drives the economy forward,' he said, adding that the government would continue to remain growth-supportive, maintain macroeconomic stability, and pursue deregulation and ease of doing business for both small and large enterprises.

Who Was in the Room

The virtual session was attended by Nirmal K. Minda, President of Assocham; past presidents of the chamber; senior secretariat members; Council Chairs and Co-Chairs; sectoral leaders; and heads of member organisations across Assocham's industry network. The breadth of the audience underscores the significance the confederation placed on Nageswaran's assessment at a moment of global economic uncertainty.

With the government signalling continued deregulation and private sector calls growing louder, how effectively India's corporate sector responds to this challenge will likely determine whether the CEA's resilience thesis holds through the remainder of the year.