India’s 7.8% Growth Has an Unanswered Question

More from How India's Economy Works All episodes →

1. 

   E70 · 7 Oct 2026 · 15 min

   The RBI Raised Rates. Then It Softened the Sting

   The Reserve Bank of India has raised the repo rate and shifted its stance to “calibrated tightening”, signalling that rate cuts are unlikely even as future policy decisions remain data-dependent. But what does this mean for inflation, growth, borrowing costs and liquidity in the banking system? In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, journalist and author Puja Mehra speaks with Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at Bank of Baroda, about the RBI’s latest monetary policy decision. Sabnavis explains why he had argued for delaying the rate hike, why he expects further increases, and how the…

2. 

   E69 · 30 Sep 2026 · 30 min

   India Needs Cheaper Capital. Indian Households Could Hold the Key

   India’s households save a substantial share of their income, but much of that saving goes into physical assets such as gold and real estate rather than financial instruments. Why does this matter for the economy? And what does the composition of household savings have to do with investment, borrowing costs and economic growth? In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, journalist and author Puja Mehra speaks with economist Vidya Mahambare, Union Bank Chair Professor of Economics and Director (Research and Fellow Programme In Management) at the Great Lakes Institute of Management in…

3. 

   E68 · 23 Sep 2026 · 35 min

   Global Bond Markets Are Shifting. What It Means for India

   The episode examines how rising government borrowing, persistent inflation, changing bond investors and huge AI-related investment needs are reshaping global bond markets. In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Dr. Anoop Singh, economist and Former Director of the IMF. Singh explains why the US Treasury market matters far beyond the United States, why central banks have less control over long-term borrowing costs than many assume, and how the world is entering what he describes as a “new fiscal era” marked by greater fiscal dominance. The conversation also looks…

4. 

   E67 · 16 Sep 2026 · 38 min

   What the Iran Conflict has Revealed about India's Energy Security

   In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with political scientist and economic historian Rohit Chandra, Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy of IIT, Delhi. They talk about what those crises taught India, how the country’s energy system has changed, and what the latest Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruption reveal about India’s continuing vulnerabilities. Chandra explains why India was better placed to absorb the latest shock than it was in the 1970s, thanks to greater electrification, domestic refining capacity and crude storage. But he argues that…

5. 

   E65 · 2 Sep 2026 · 39 min

   India’s Self-Inflicted Outflows: How Policy Makers Are Driving Away Foreign Investors

   In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Ananth Narayan, Economist and Former Whole Time Member, SEBI about the growing interconnections between India’s interest-rate, equity and currency markets—and the unintended consequences of intervening in each of them separately. Narayan argues that the RBI’s aggressive intervention in the bond market, including record purchases of government bonds, has kept interest rates artificially low and weakened the appeal of fixed-income assets for domestic savers. This, he says, has pushed more savings into equities and overseas…

6. 

   E64 · 19 Aug 2026 · 27 min

   The Unintended Consequences Of India's Rural Homes Subsidy

   India has spent heavily on housing schemes, but are we building homes in the places where people actually need them? In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks to economist Dr. Vidya Mahambare, Union Bank Chair Professor of Economics and Director (Research and Fellow Programme In Management) at the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, about why India’s housing policy needs to be rethought as part of a broader strategy for employment and economic growth. Mahambare argues that homes need to be built closer to where jobs are being created, particularly in urban…

7. 

   E63 · 5 Aug 2026 · 33 min

   Why India's GDP Growth Isn't Resulting in Prosperity

   India has been one of the world's fastest-growing major economies for years. Yet for millions of Indians, rising GDP has not translated into rising household prosperity, better jobs, or greater economic security. In this episode of How India's Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with economist Professor Partha Chatterjee, Dean of Academics and Professor of Economics at ⁠Shiv Nadar University, about the structural reasons behind this disconnect. They explore why India's "missing middle"—the absence of enough productive, mid-sized firms and middle-income jobs—has become one of the country's…

8. 

   E62 · 22 Jul 2026 · 35 min

   India’s Engineering Crisis

   In this episode of How India's Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Electrical Engineer Sudhir Gera, Director of Operations at IEC Electric Power Ltd, who has spent over three decades in the industry and has worked closely with engineering colleges, regulators, and policymakers. He explains why India's challenge is not a shortage of engineering graduates but a shortage of industry-ready skills. From outdated curricula and weak industry-academia collaboration to the dominance of IT jobs and the neglect of hands-on manufacturing training, Gera argues that the country's engineering education…

9. 

   E61 · 8 Jul 2026 · 18 min

   How India's exports to the US jumped in the tumultuous year of Trump Tariffs

   In this episode of How India's Economy Works, host Puja Mehra speaks with trade economist Dr. Nisha Taneja, Professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). They unpack what the latest export data really reveals. Why did some sectors thrive while others—diamonds, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and jewellery—registered sharp declines? Why did exports to China unexpectedly surge? And what does this tell us about India's overdependence on the US market? The conversation also examines whether India's recent free trade agreements can genuinely help…