CEA KV Subramanian decides to step down
NEW DELHI: Chief economic adviser KV Subramanian has stepped down from his post and said he will return to academia after completing his three-year term in the finance ministry. Subramaniam took over as the CEA in December 2018 following Arvind Subramanian’s decision to quit the post in June 2018.
“Being provided the opportunity to contribute during a period of tremendous uncertainty and epochal change has been the lucky icing on the cake. So, while being conscious of the enormous privilege bestowed on me, I will happily return back to serving the country as a researcher after fulfilling my three-year commitment,” Subramanian said in a statement.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “inspiring” leadership, Subramanian said Modi’s intuitive understanding of economic policy combines with an unmistakeable determination to use the same to elevate the lives of common citizens. “In my close interactions, I had the privilege to witness this combination in action – be it in taking the tough decisions that do not fall prey to sub-optimal populism but tangibly improve citizens’ lives, or in the courage of conviction to think out of the box and enact pathbreaking reforms amidst a oncein-a-century crisis when the rest of the world was merely content on tiding through the pandemic,” he added.
During his tenure, Subramanian brought out Economic Surveys for FY19, FY20 and FY21. In his first Economic Survey for FY19, Subramanian emphasized on “investment led growth by capitalizing on complementary inter-linkages between various macro-economic variables.” His second Economic Survey for FY20 built on the government’s target of making India a $5 trillion economy and sought to craft a framework of policies to foster wealth creation in the country. The FY21 Survey prematurely celebrated a “V-shaped recovery” for which Subramanian had to face some criticism.
“Given the passion for research, bringing new ideas and disseminating them through the Economic Survey has been an unadulterated pleasure.
This process has taught me to carefully pick a team of talented and motivated professionals in a way that Sourav Ganguly exemplified, remaining calm while continually paddling underneath as Dhoni epitomised, and always putting the nation first in a way that Rahul Dravid demonstrated,” Subramanian said.
Before joining the government, Subramanian was an associate professor and executive director at the Centre For Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, specializing in banking, corporate governance and economic policy.