Govt extends tenure of chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran to March 2027

New Delhi: The Indian government has extended chief economic adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran’s tenure by two years, keeping him in the role until March 2027, the ministry of finance said on Thursday. 

The CEA's office is responsible for advising the government on various economic policies and drafting the annual Economic Survey, which is tabled in parliament a day before the Union Budget.

The extension, approved by the appointments committee of the union cabinet led by prime minister Narendra Modi, comes weeks after the Economic Survey 2024-25 projected GDP growth of 6.3% to 6.8% for the next fiscal year (FY26).

Economic slowdown

Nageswaran's extension comes as the Indian economy shows signs of slowing growth. Real GDP grew by 5.4% in the September quarter, the slowest in nearly two years, owing to a slowdown in manufacturing, urban consumption and muted corporate earnings, showed data released last month by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation.

The Economic Survey 2024-25 projected GDP growth of 6.3-6.8% for the next financial year. According to the government's advance estimates, the economy is expected to grow at 6.4% in the current financial year.

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"The risk factor (to economic growth) is not only due to changes in the global playing field but also global stock markets, which have become volatile lately, as we witnessed earlier this week," Nageswaran said after the release of the Economic Survey on 31 January.

"India remains the fastest-growing economy among large economies in the world. The global export share of GDP has been coming down… another 0.5% to 1% additional growth can come from agriculture, which will take it (GDP growth) to seven-and-a-half or eight (percent)," he added.

‘Don’t take rapid growth for granted’

Nageswaran, who took charge as CEA in January 2022, has a key role in shaping economic policy and drafting the annual Economic Survey. An academic and former executive at Credit Suisse and Julius Baer, he succeeded KV Subramanian as CEA.

In a 2016 report titled 'Can India Grow: Challenges, Opportunities & the Way Forward', which he co-authored with Gulzar Natarajan, Nageswaran argued that India should not take rapid economic growth for granted.

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"India’s rapid population expansion requires that the country sustain long-term growth to enable job creation over time. For the country to achieve this enduring trajectory, India must correctly identify the economic fundamentals behind such growth," he said.

"This should include both short-term, cyclical barriers and long-term, structural impediments that hold it back. Articulating a set of policy priorities and guiding principles that address these issues is the best way forward for India’s future economic prospects," he added.

Nageswaran was a part of several corporate boards including Sundaram Fasteners Limited, Delphi TVS Technologies Limited and TVS Tyres, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He was earlier a part-time member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC); a professor at Singapore Management University; founder, director & chief investment officer at Libran Asset Management; and an economist with UBS.

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