IMF sets distance from former chief economic adviser K Subramanian’s claim of 8% growth for India

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday distanced itself its India Executive Director Krishnamurthy Subramanian’s claim that the Indian economy can grow at 8% “till 2047”.

“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…and accelerate the reforms, then India can grow at 8% from here on till 2047,” Subramanian, who is India’s former chief economic adviser, had said at an event in Delhi on March 28.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on several occasions emphasised the goal of India becoming a developed economy by 2047.

Speaking to reporters during a press briefing on Thursday, International Monetary Fund Communications Department Director Julie Kozack said that Subramanian’s views do not represent the official view of the organisation’s staff, but were nevertheless made in his capacity as the International Monetary Fund’s executive director in India.

Responding to a question from an Indian news publication about Subramanian’s comments, Kozack said: “I just want to start by explaining a little bit the different roles at the IMF. So 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 that’s distinct, of course, from the work of the IMF staff. So, the views conveyed…by Mr. Subramanian were in his role as India’s representative at the IMF.”

As for the International Monetary Fund’s official view on India’s economic growth, Kozack said, “We will be updating this in the WEO [World Economic Outlook report], which will be coming in the next couple of weeks.”

Kozack clarified that the organisation had in January projected a 6.5% growth rate for India in the medium term. “Again, we will be presenting the latest forecast in just a couple of weeks,” she clarified.

Subramanian responded to news reports of the development on Saturday by claiming that the International Monetary Fund’s “staff’s estimates of India’s growth rate has been consistently inaccurate”.

“While India’s growth has been >7%, IMF staff estimates have all been <7%,” he wrote in a post on X. “In contrast, I’ve made accurate predictions.”

In July, Subramanian had claimed that reciting the Hindu hymn Hanuman Chalisa helped a student secure admission to a US university.

Prior to his stint as the chief economic advisor from December 2018 to October 2021, Subramanian was an associate professor at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He is also an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management and has a PhD from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Subramanian has previously been a member of the expert committee on the governance of banks for The Reserve Bank of India. He has also been a part of the board of directors at Bandhan Bank and the National Institute of Bank Management.