Brexit a major shock, but India can withstand fallout: Arvind Subramanian

PATNA: Chief economic adviser to the government of India Arvind Subramanian on Sunday called Brexit a major shock in the history of the world after the Cold War. He called it a setback for the international citizen, globalization and that what was a great social experiment was now being reversed. As for its economic repercussions on India, he said the country had strong fundamentals to withstand the negative fallout.

He was in Patna to deliver the silver jubilee lecture on the third day of the International Conference on Social Statistics in India organised by the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), as part of their Silver Jubilee celebrations 2016-17. His topic was ‘Overview of the Indian economy’ and the session was chaired by Hari Menon, director, policy and poverty Alleviation, Bill & Milinda Gates Foundation.

He further said he was excited about the clothing sector to bring in growth and social transformation. It was much more labour-intensive than sectors like auto and steel and had the potential to empower women by creating jobs for them. He also said it was one of the areas where shrinking share by the Chinese could be cornered by Indian firms.