'Are these growth numbers real?': Ex-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan casts doubts on India's GDP numbers
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said that the Indian economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 7.8%.
- Sep 2, 2026,
- Updated Sep 2, 2026 4:28 PM IST
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan questioned why is India not able to generate enough jobs for youngsters if the economy is growing at such a fast pace. Rajan said that he has his doubts on the growth of the Indian economy. In an interview with news agency PTI, the former RBI Governor said that there are some real concerns in case of such a fast economic growth.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said that the Indian economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 7.8%. This exceeded Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) estimate of 7% for the quarter.
MUST READ | The GDP conundrum: Economists split over India's faster-than-expected 7.8% GDP growth rate
In this interview, he wondered why there aren't more jobs and why not much investment has taken place if the economy is actually growing that fast.
Rajan can be heard saying, "Are these growth numbers real? Even the larger economy is in doubt if the growth numbers aren't real. There are some discrepancies which one has to worry about which is if we're growing so fast, why aren't we creating more jobs? More good jobs? And, why is investment not taking place? Why are our industrialists so reluctant to invest? Why is FDI not coming in much bigger ways? We can play around with the numbers for a long time and have one view or the other."
DON'T MISS | 'No serious economist will complain': PM's advisor Sanjeev Sanyal defends India's 7.8% GDP growth
Furthermore, he went onto ask that is the government doing what is necessary to create more jobs. He further questioned what measures are being taken to stay at the forefront in the sectors where we have a presence.
He added, "And, if the answer is no to both questions then I think we have a fundamental problem. Because this is our moment of population dividend. If we're not creating enough jobs for all, then we risk losing out the population dividend."
Watch the full video here
DO CHECKOUT | 'Faking GDP growth is very difficult': Arvind Panagariya explains why numbers are hard to manipulate
Soon after the clip went viral on social media, Aarin Capital chairman and former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that "a fake narrative" is being created on jobs by "vested interests".
Pai further urged PM Modi to revive the EPFO jobs data to avoid such a scenario. "PM @narendramodi Sir A fake narrative on jobs is being created by vested interests. Sadly @officialepfo has stopped giving monthly Jobs data which your office had started 80 months go. The data gave total new jobs, by gender, age groups. Industry, States. Please revive."
This, however, is not the first time that Raghuram Rajan has flagged the jobs crisis in the country. In an interview with The Frontline, the former RBI governor said that the private sector is not creating enough jobs. Rajan added that civil services jobs are now on top of people's minds as a good job as opposed to a job where one wants to do public service.
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan questioned why is India not able to generate enough jobs for youngsters if the economy is growing at such a fast pace. Rajan said that he has his doubts on the growth of the Indian economy. In an interview with news agency PTI, the former RBI Governor said that there are some real concerns in case of such a fast economic growth.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said that the Indian economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 7.8%. This exceeded Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) estimate of 7% for the quarter.
MUST READ | The GDP conundrum: Economists split over India's faster-than-expected 7.8% GDP growth rate
In this interview, he wondered why there aren't more jobs and why not much investment has taken place if the economy is actually growing that fast.
Rajan can be heard saying, "Are these growth numbers real? Even the larger economy is in doubt if the growth numbers aren't real. There are some discrepancies which one has to worry about which is if we're growing so fast, why aren't we creating more jobs? More good jobs? And, why is investment not taking place? Why are our industrialists so reluctant to invest? Why is FDI not coming in much bigger ways? We can play around with the numbers for a long time and have one view or the other."
DON'T MISS | 'No serious economist will complain': PM's advisor Sanjeev Sanyal defends India's 7.8% GDP growth
Furthermore, he went onto ask that is the government doing what is necessary to create more jobs. He further questioned what measures are being taken to stay at the forefront in the sectors where we have a presence.
He added, "And, if the answer is no to both questions then I think we have a fundamental problem. Because this is our moment of population dividend. If we're not creating enough jobs for all, then we risk losing out the population dividend."
Watch the full video here
DO CHECKOUT | 'Faking GDP growth is very difficult': Arvind Panagariya explains why numbers are hard to manipulate
Soon after the clip went viral on social media, Aarin Capital chairman and former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that "a fake narrative" is being created on jobs by "vested interests".
Pai further urged PM Modi to revive the EPFO jobs data to avoid such a scenario. "PM @narendramodi Sir A fake narrative on jobs is being created by vested interests. Sadly @officialepfo has stopped giving monthly Jobs data which your office had started 80 months go. The data gave total new jobs, by gender, age groups. Industry, States. Please revive."
This, however, is not the first time that Raghuram Rajan has flagged the jobs crisis in the country. In an interview with The Frontline, the former RBI governor said that the private sector is not creating enough jobs. Rajan added that civil services jobs are now on top of people's minds as a good job as opposed to a job where one wants to do public service.