‘Present govt only added 1.5-2% to growth’: Chidambaram questions India’s 'insufficient' economic policies

India’s economy is on autopilot and won’t go into a recession — even if there’s no government at all, according to Rajya Sabha MP and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram. 

The veteran economist didn’t hold back, stating, “We will continue to grow at 4-5% because there are farmers, workers, and small industries that produce food grains and other things and services.” 

For Chidambaram, the real question isn’t whether India will grow — but how much more the government can push it beyond the 4-5% baseline. He argues that policy decisions under the current administration have only contributed an additional 1.5-2% to India’s natural growth rate, which he believes is insufficient. 

“We are indeed the fastest-growing economy in the world,” he said, before breaking down why that label might not mean as much as it seems. 

“Growing at 2.7% last year, the US added $787 billion to its GDP in that one year,” he pointed out. “Meanwhile, China grew last year at 4.91%, and it added $895 billion to its GDP. We are growing at a faster rate but we add only $256 billion to our GDP.” 

Chidambaram said that growth rates tell only part of the story. India might be the fastest-growing major economy, but in sheer economic expansion, it still lags far behind the global giants. “We actually need to see the addition to the GDP and not compare the growth rates,” he added. 

The remarks come amid ongoing debates over India’s economic trajectory, with the government touting its rapid growth as a global success story. But Chidambaram argues that despite the numbers, India’s economy isn’t accelerating as much as it needs to keep pace with the world’s largest economies.