The State of the Indian Economy with Arvind Subramanian

May 8, 2025·56 min·4 clips

Subramanian links falling foreign direct investment directly to what he calls the weaponization of enforcement and regulatory arbitrariness under the current government.

The question is broad. Mukulika Banerjee and Pragya Tiwari open from London and New Delhi by asking where the Indian economy is headed, then slow the pace down. GDP comes first, with gross domestic product explained before the conversation moves into growth and employment. Arvind brings close government experience to the table. He is introduced as India's former Chief Economic Advisor and as co-author, with Devesh Kapoor, of A Sixth of Humanity, Independent India's Development Odyssey. The episode does not treat fast growth as proof that all is well. It asks what kind of growth can create jobs, which is the more awkward and useful question. The Economic Survey then becomes the center of the exchange. The host points to its long link with the annual budget and asks how listeners should read the 2025 version. Arvind calls it a funny beast. His point is plain enough: the Chief Economic Advisor has to produce it, but the character of the document depends heavily on whoever holds the job. He separates record from analysis. Earlier surveys, in his telling, often looked back at the previous year with some analysis around the edges. During his own tenure, he tried to make the document more analytical, more focused on policy, and more grounded in research. That difference matters because the Survey is not automatically a secret map of the economy. The final turn is toward exporters. Arvind says their interests do not carry enough weight in Indian policy calculations, especially on exchange rates, input access, and deregulation. The episode ends with a measured, useful sense of how evidence, institutions, and political voice shape economic policy.

As heard by us

A steady, policy-minded look at India's growth debate and the Economic Survey.

India Briefing treats the Indian economy as an open policy question rather than a settled story. Mukulika Banerjee and Pragya Tiwari bring in Arvind Subramaniam and move from GDP and the easy badge of "fastest growing" to a more useful question: how the Economic Survey should…

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Want a sober read on India's growth story and the 2025 Economic Survey?

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