Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan opposes excluding food inflation in setting interest rates

Amid suggestions for excluding food inflation while setting benchmark interest rates, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said that he is against excluding food prices from headline inflation, as it would erode the 'great faith' of people in the central bank, which has been mandated by the government to keep inflation in check. Rajan further said it is best that inflation target a basket which is what the consumer consumes because that affects the consumers perception of inflation and ultimately inflationary expectations. "When I came into office, we were still targeting PPI (producer price index). Now that has no bearing to what the average consumer faces. "So, when the RBI says inflation is low, look at PPI, but if the consumer is facing something very different, then they do not really believe that inflation is down," he told PTI. Rajan was responding to a question on suggestions made in the Economic Survey 2023-24 for excluding food inflation while setting benchmark interest

Govt needs to promote labour-intensive industries for jobs: Raghuram Rajan

With 7 per cent economic growth, India is not creating enough jobs as reflected by the number of applicants for vacant posts in some states, Reserve Bank's former governor Raghuram Rajan said and suggested the government needs to focus on promoting labour-intensive industries to generate employment. Rajan further said some Indians, especially those at upper level, are comfortable and have high incomes, but consumption growth from the lower half of the country has still not recovered to pre-pandemic level. "That is the unfortunate part...You would think with 7 per cent growth, we would be creating a lot of jobs. But if you look at our manufacturing growth, it is more capital intensive," he told PTI. Rajan was asked whether the Indian economy, which is growing at 7 per cent, is creating enough jobs. According to him, the industries that are more capital-intensive are growing faster, but labour-intensive industries are not growing. "It is not going well at the lower level. I think th

India doing well in infra; needs to do more to boost manufacturing: Rajan

India has done well in areas like infrastructure in the last 10 years, but it also needs to do more in other sectors to boost local manufacturing and job creation, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday. In an interview with PTI, Rajan further said the government's focus on production, whether it is goods or services is a good thing, but it is also important to do it the right way. Responding to a question on the Modi government's flagship initiative 'Make in India', he said, "I would say the intention is good. I think in some areas, we have done a lot, as I said, in infrastructure...we have done a lot that has been very useful". The Modi government's flagship initiative 'Make in India' was launched 10 years ago on September 25, 2014. "But we need to check the other places. And the best way to check is to ask critics, what do you think? What has happened? Has it happened the way you want it? Should we do more? You get feedback, and then you work along," Rajan said. T

Bimal Jalan to Raghuram Rajan: 10 key lateral entries in govt before 2014

In a letter to the UPSC, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly believes that the lateral entry process should uphold the principles of equity and social justice

India's tech sector needs 1 mn high-tech engineers as economy expands

India's $250 billion tech sector plays an important role in the economy, employing about 5.4 million people

India's path to economic success lies in powering services sector: Rajan

The former RBI governor argues that India should prioritise improving education and health care services through decentralisation and local empowerment to achieve better outcomes

On BJP's 272 miss, Raghuram Rajan praises 'wise' voters, shares roadmap

Lok Sabha elections 2024 result: Raghuram Rajan said that by electing a strong Opposition, India has a "fighting chance of securing the economic future"

Here's what ex-RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on joining politics

'I have a family and a wife, who doesn't want me to enter politics for a good reason,' says Raghuram Rajan

India to stick to policy path whether PM Modi wins 3rd term or not: Rajan

The new govt will announce a budget shortly after it comes to power, which will likely focus on "all the good stuff that is happening while trying to see what other changes have to be made," he said

Don't bring the successful down, elevate the rest: Rajan on wealth tax

Raghuram Rajan said having inclusive growth will increase the pace of growth, but taxing the rich is not the solution to achieve the same

Raghuram Rajan flags employment concerns amid India's growth momentum

Raghuram Rajan's remarks come at a time when unemployment remains a major issue in India, with a survey by Lokniti-CSDS revealing that 27% of voters consider it their top concern

India not reaping benefits of its demographic dividend: Raghuram Rajan

India is not reaping the benefits of democratic dividends, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said Tuesday, emphasizing that there is need to focus on improving the human capital and enhancing their skill sets. I think we are in the midst of it (democratic dividend), but the problem is we are not reaping the benefits, Rajan said at a conference on Making India an Advanced Economy by 2047: What Will it Take at the George Washington University here. That's why I said 6 per cent growth. If you think that's about what we are right now, take away the fluff in the GDP numbers. That 6 per cent is in the midst of a demographic dividend. It is much below where China and Korea were when they reaped their demographic dividend. And that's why I'm saying we are being overly complicit when we say this is great. This is not because we are losing the demographic dividend because we are not giving those guys jobs, the former RBI governor said. And that leads us to the question, how do we create thos

India making a mistake believing 'hype' about growth, says Raghuram Rajan

Rajan said it was "nonsense" to talk of that goal "if so many of your kids don't have a high school education" and drop-out rates are high

Need to focus on education, healthcare to become developed nation: Rajan

Former RBI Governor Rajan highlighted the fact that India has maintained an average growth rate of six per cent over the past 25 years, which is no easy feat for any country

The big change at RBI

Bankers say Das' stint has been a refreshing change. "After a long time, we have a governor who is approachable. I can say that because the RBI's interactions with us are now much better,"

India needs to address issues like malnutrition to become developed: Rajan

India needs to address problems like malnutrition to become a developed nation and also focus on its most important asset of human capital, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said. Speaking at an interactive session on a book co-authored by him at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here on Sunday, he asked how the country can become a developed one when malnutrition is prevalent. "We are fixated with becoming a developed, rich country by 2047. I use this as an example to say, you must be joking about becoming a developed rich country by 2047 with 35 per cent malnutrition today," he said. The children who are suffering from malnutrition now would join the labour force 10 years from now, he said. He also stressed on nurturing the human capital in the country by offering appropriate training on a large scale. "In order to get the medium term right, we have to focus on India's most important asset, its human capital. We have 1.4 billion people more than any other country in the .

By 2047, India to remain a lower middle country if growth remains 6%: Rajan

Former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said India will still remain a lower middle country if the growth rate remains at 6 per cent annually without any rise in population by 2047 (Amrit Kaal) and will be reaching the end of the demographic dividend by then. Speaking at a programme organised by Manthan here, the economist said if the country does not grow faster, it will grow older (demographically) before it gets richer, which means there is the burden of an aging population to deal with also at that point. "If you do the math, at 6 per cent a year, you double every 12 years, and therefore in 24 years, we'll be four times our per capita income. Today, the per capita income in India, as you know, is just a little below $2,500 per person. multiply by four, we get $10,000 per personSo if you do the math, at our current rate of growth, you know, strong as it is highest in the G20, we don't get rich but we stay lower middle income till 2047," he said. The former RBI chief said some

$5 trillion economy goal for 2025 nearly impossible: Raghuram Rajan

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has attributed the sharp uptick in GDP in the first half of the current fiscal to infrastructure spending and good performance by large economies of the world but added India has to do a lot of catching up and the USD 5 trillion economy goal for 2025 is nearly impossible. Rajan further said that even as India's growth rate is strong, private investment and private consumption have not picked up. "So if you look at why we have done so well this year, one of the reasons we are doing so well is also because the world is doing well. "... the other reason for this very strong growth in the first half is tremendous government spending on infrastructure," Rajan told PTI. India retained the tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy, with its GDP expanding by a faster-than-expected rate of 7.6 per cent in the July-September quarter on booster shots from government spending and manufacturing. At constant (2011-12) prices in April-September 2023-24 (

Job creation single most important pressure point: Raghuram Rajan

Indian economy, dubbed the fastest growing major economy in the world, is faced with the single most important pressure point of job creation, says former RBI Governor Raghuram G Ranjan as he makes a strong case for improvement of human capital through skill development. Talking about the book 'Breaking the mould: Reimagining India's economic future', written jointly by him and Rohit Lamba, assistant professor of economics at Pennsylvania State University, Rajan said one of the greatest strength of India is its human capital of 1.4 billion and the question is "how do you make it strong?" The nation needs to create jobs at every level going along the path of development, said Rajan, presently Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth, USA. "Jobs is the single most important pressure point... If we had many more private sector jobs showing up, would there be so much pressure on reservations? Perhaps there'll be less so to some extent," he said,

Are private sector executives better than bureaucrats for regulators' job?

Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan said it is better if the person's expertise is considered than whether he/she is a bureaucrat or a private sector executive