‘Every crisis became an opportunity for reforms’: Das says India is within striking distance of 8% growth

In an interview with the Financial Times, Das said the Indian economy had weathered a series of global shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the recent conflict in West Asia, and had emerged stronger after each crisis.

“With a reasonable level of normality in the geopolitical situation and the reforms being undertaken by the prime minister, 8% growth should be within striking distance,” Das said.

The International Monetary Fund had projected India’s economic growth at 6.5% for both FY27 and FY28, down from 7.6% in FY26. However, Das indicated that growth could accelerate if geopolitical tensions ease and the government’s reform agenda gathers pace.

The 8% growth mark is considered significant as economists believe India needs to sustain growth at around that level over the long term to achieve the government’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Das, who served as governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 2018 and 2024 before joining the PMO, said the government remained committed to improving the ease of doing business.

“The prime minister is absolutely focused on reforms to improve the ease of doing business,” he told the newspaper, adding that additional market-friendly measures were “in the pipeline”, though he did not elaborate.

According to the report, senior government officials also believe India’s diversified economy would be less vulnerable than advanced economies to disruptions arising from artificial intelligence, with growth being driven by multiple sectors rather than technology alone.

Das said India had used every major global crisis as an opportunity to push structural reforms. “In the last six to seven years, we have had four major international crises. India has emerged stronger each time because it saw every crisis as an opportunity to advance further reforms,” he said.