India's 6.6% Growth a 'Very Good Record' Amid Global Turmoil: Amitabh Kant

Speaking on the sidelines of the Bharat ki Soch event, Kant offered a bullish yet pragmatic assessment of the Indian economy, emphasising that the current growth rate is a significant achievement given the geopolitical "shocks" currently rattling the international order.

"We are in the midst of conflicts, we are in the midst of war, we are in the midst of rising oil prices. So 6.6, achieving 6.6 at this particular point in time is a very good record. We'll still be the fastest growing large economy in the world," Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog, said on the sidelines of an event Bharat ki Soch while responding to a query from ANI.

Kant said the current global environment remains extraordinarily challenging due to protectionism, tariff barriers and lack of policy predictability, but India's structural reforms and infrastructure push will help the country in the long run.

"I'm saying over a three-decade period, as the situation normalises, it's important to understand that we are in the midst of very major conflicts across the world. Global supply chains are broken, there's protectionism, there's tariffs, it's an extraordinary situation. There's a lack of predictability and consistency of policies right now," he said.

Highlighting the need for long-term energy security, Kant said India must accelerate efforts towards energy independence through renewable energy expansion, storage systems and clean technologies.

"We need to accelerate that. More than that, we need to build up storage, both for electricity and for electric mobility," he said.

Kant said India must significantly enhance renewable energy targets and push solar, wind, offshore wind and concentrated solar power in a mission mode.

"This would require us to enhance our targets for renewables, to push for storages, to actually push for both solar and wind and offshore and concentrated solar, all in a very, very big way as a mission for the country," he said.

On inflationary pressures arising from high crude oil prices, Kant said India, being a major importer of fossil fuels, is currently facing adverse impacts, though the government has consciously absorbed the shocks instead of fully passing them on to consumers.

"So Indian government took a conscious decision to absorb it at present. Hopefully, to my mind, we should have the war concluding, we should have peace and serenity, and I believe that the prices of oil should come down quickly," he said.

"That's a consequence of the rise in fuel prices at the moment. India is a major importer of fossil fuel, and that is having an adverse impact right now. With oil prices coming down, that should subside," he added.

Kant further stressed that India needs to become self-reliant in semiconductors, critical mineral processing and clean energy technologies to secure long-term economic resilience.

"We need to build up independence in semiconductor, which we are already on under the PLI for semiconductor mission, where 12 different companies are going to manufacture in India, which is a very, very big step forward," he said.

Calling the semiconductor Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme "one of the most path-breaking schemes", Kant said chip manufacturing would be critical for sectors ranging from defence to automobiles.

"If India is able to put up 12 semiconductor plants, if India becomes independent as far as chips are concerned, we were a great designer of chips, but now with manufacturing of chips, India will be very, very independent because chips are going to run the world," he said.

Kant also expressed hope that peace in West Asia and increased global fossil fuel production would help ease oil prices and inflationary pressures over time.

"Our hope should be that the truce continues, that war ends in West Asia, that oil prices fall, production increases of fossil fuel oils, and in the long run, India becomes energy independent by pushing for both wind and solar," he said.

- ANI