About the talk:

• Dr. Mishra set the global context: the world is facing record-high levels of trade and policy uncertainty, though global growth has stayed surprisingly resilient because businesses are pouring investment into artificial intelligence and semiconductors, partially offsetting the drag from trade wars. 

• Shri Vualnam addressed the fiscal picture, noting that while budget borrowings have been reduced, India imports 60% of its LPG with 90% transiting a single strait, making fiscal stress real. However, capital expenditure on highways and railways continues at budgeted levels to maintain infrastructure momentum. 

• Dr Arunish Chawla argued that focusing on a few key areas solves multiple problems simultaneously, pointing to strong performance in pharma, electronics, engineering goods, automotive, and value-added agriculture. Public capex (on-budget and off-budget) is creating large-scale construction jobs and absorbing labour from agriculture.  

• Shri Sengupta addressed the FDI question, arguing that net outflows partly reflect investors earning good returns, and ease of entry and exit is a positive signal for a maturing economy. He identified resilience as the central theme: India has faced three major supply shocks in six years, and if the country doubles down on resilience, FDI follows.