8% growth projection for India till 2047 is not ours, says IMF

The recent remarks of Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), about India’s growth figures does not represent the views of the IMF and were in his role as India’s representative at the global body, the IMF has said.

“The views conveyed... by Mr. Subramanian were in his role as India’s representative at the IMF,” Julie Kozack, IMF spokesperson, told reporters here on Thursday.

She was responding to a question on recent remarks by Mr. Subramanian projecting a growth rate of 8% for India, which is different from the last growth rate projections by the IMF.

Mr. Subramanian, at an event in New Delhi on March 28, had said the Indian economy could grow at 8% till 2047, if the country redoubles the good policies that it has implemented over the last 10 years and accelerates reforms.

“So, the basic idea is that with the kind of growth that India has registered in the last 10 years, if we can redouble the good policies that we have implemented over the last 10 years and accelerate reforms, then India can grow at 8% from here on till 2047,” he had said.

The IMF spokesperson clarified, “We do have an Executive Board. That Executive Board is made up of executive directors who are representatives of countries or groups of countries, and they make up the Executive Board of the IMF. And that’s distinct, of course, from the work of the IMF staff.”

The IMF would be updating its World Economic Outlook in the next couple of weeks, Ms. Kozack further added.

The Centre appointed a new presiding officer and a technical member for the Securities Appellate Tribunal that had been functioning with a single member for more than three months. Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar, former CJ of Karnataka High Court, has been appointed as the presiding officer. Dheeraj Bhatnagar, retired Principal Chief Commissioner of IT, Delhi, is the technical member.

(The writer, Ashley Coutinho is with The Hindu businessline)