Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat said on Friday former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan will soon arrive to change his views on the Indian economy, which Rajan says will be lucky enough to grow at a rate of 5 percent next year. Contrary to Rajan’s assessment of India’s economy, Shekhawat said that all major institutions, including the World Bank, predicts that the country’s growth rate will be between 7 and 8 percent next year.

Rajan joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on Wednesday. In an interaction during the yatra, Rajan had said that the next year will be difficult for the Indian economy, which is being hit by a global economic downturn. Indian interest rates have also risen but exports have slowed. India’s inflation problem will also weigh on growth.

Rajan said in his assessment of the country that the country would be lucky if it grew by 5 percent next year. In his rebuttal to Rajan, Shekhawat said only Rajan could explain the reason for his pessimistic assessment of the Indian economy for 2023. “All major institutions from the RBI to the World Bank say that India’s growth rate will be between 7 and 8 percent next year.

“After that, if someone says something, only he can explain the basis of his assessment. That can be his own views,” Shekhawat told reporters here.

He said Rajan once predicted that the MUDRA program would end up contributing a maximum of NPAs.

“I want to remind you of one thing. When Prime Minister Narendra Modiji announced the MUDRA program for self-employment and helping small entrepreneurs, Raghuram Rajan had predicted that the MUDRA program would contain a maximum of NPAs and it would collapse.

“I think he should reconsider his views on the program today and similarly he will also change his views on the Indian economy in the next three to four years,” the minister told reporters here.

Speaking to reporters, Shekhwat listed a number of measures and policy initiatives taken by the Modi government to boost manufacturing and exports in the country.

Citing the latest export data, Shekhawat said India’s trade had performed impressively with total exports (goods and services combined) of US$58.22 billion in November 2022.

Exports showed positive growth of 10.97 percent over the same period last year, he said.

“In the last eight years of Make in India, annual FDI has doubled to $83 billion,” he added.

On the issue of the trade deficit with China, Shekhawat said, “The country imports raw materials and components from China and exports goods to other countries by adding value. So the deficit with China should be seen alone. It should be seen with the whole import-export bouquet. We export more today.”

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