NEW DELHI: Shaktikanta Das, principal secretary to PM, on Thursday said that the West Asia crisis highlighted the importance of energy security and self-reliance, while asserting that India is seen as a “safe anchor” as it offers stability, predictability and prospects of long-term growth amid global uncertainty. “Even with all the turbulence around the world, India will find a way to triumph and emerge stronger,” he said at an AIMA event, where he received the Public Service Excellence Award. In the wake of “unprecedented volatility”, the former RBI governor also suggested that the corporate sector should build organisational resilience, strengthen their balance sheets, build new supply chains and diversify into new markets, while protecting jobs and reskill manpower. Das highlighted that India has not just remained resilient amid global volatility, but emerged stronger from every crisis, starting with Covid to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. “The nimble yet prudent responses of our policymakers have helped us in managing crises so well. What was unique about India throughout this period of multiple crises was that fiscal and monetary expansion were followed by timely rollback of such expansion. Thus froth was not allowed to accumulate or overrun the system.” He listed multiple factors – from macroeconomic and policy stability to strong domestic demand, digitisation, monetary policy stability and fiscal discipline – to argue that the economy could combat pressure. “India’s strategic autonomy and diversified partnerships reduce over dependence on any single country or group of countries. We take decisions in our best national interest,” he added. Underlining the need for atma nirbharta, he said that reliance on one dominant partner creates vulnerability, not efficiency. “Resilience maximisation can indeed be highly cost effective in the long run,” he said.
