IIM Indore played host to the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Arvind Subramanian, at the institute last week. The economist interacted with the students and shared his views on some of the major economic decisions taken during his term.
Subramanian, who is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and hence part of the IIM fraternity, was welcomed by the Director, Prof Rishikesha T Krishnan, who recalled that the CEA was greatly admired by his batchmates, who looked up to Arvind. Subramanian is an alumnus of St Stephens College, Delhi, where he did a bachelors in economics. He then did an MBA at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and earned MPhil and DPhil degrees from the University of Oxford on an Inlaks scholarship.
The CEA, who will relinquish his post July end, described the economic-political paradigm followed by Western and East Asian countries during their development phases, and contrasted the Indian development model in terms of it being a democracy during its development process. He talked about the changing face of the Indian economy and the reforms undertaken in recent years.
Subramanian answered questions relating to Universal Basic Income, agricultural reforms, GST, trade wars, education and demography, among other issues. He highlighted the role of GST in creating a pan-India market and fostering cooperative federalism. He emphasised the need for a progressive taxation structure, where the rich pay their fair share, and underlined the importance of direct taxation in improving the citizen-state relationship through accountability.
Subramanian’s talk was not only informative but also engaging, thanks to the dash of humour added by the CEA every now and then. He also surprised the students of IIM Indore by visiting them during one of their lectures and posing for photographs with them.