June 8, 2026<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI \u2013 Even as rising tensions in West Asia fuel concerns over energy prices and their impact on emerging economies, India\u2019s newly appointed Executive Director at the World Bank, Neelkanth Mishra, believes the country\u2019s growth trajectory remains firmly intact.<\/p>\n
In an interview with ANI, Mishra argued that concerns about crude oil derailing India\u2019s economic momentum are being overstated. According to him, the country is entering this phase from a position of strength, backed by robust domestic demand, easing policy headwinds and a more resilient energy ecosystem than many global observers acknowledge.<\/p>\n
\u2018Narrative problem, not reality\u2019<\/p>\n
Mishra dismissed suggestions that higher crude prices would significantly weaken India\u2019s economic expansion, terming such fears as a perception issue rather than a reflection of underlying fundamentals.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the Indian economy grew by 7.1 per cent in FY25 despite operating under conditions of monetary tightening and fiscal consolidation. According to him, achieving that level of growth while credit expansion was slowing and government spending remained restrained demonstrates the economy\u2019s inherent strength.<\/p>\n
With credit growth now improving and fiscal conditions becoming more supportive, he said economic activity had already moved into a higher growth zone by the end of FY26. \u201cNow, with monetary tailwinds as credit growth accelerates and the budgeted deficit not lower than last year, he estimates the economy was growing at 8%+ till February-March 2026,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Ground indicators signal strong momentum<\/p>\n
Mishra cited several real-world indicators that, in his view, paint a far more optimistic picture than prevailing market sentiment.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Car sales surge: Passenger vehicle sales recorded nearly 29 per cent year-on-year growth in May, reflecting strong consumer confidence and spending appetite.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Malls witnessing higher footfalls: Retail activity and consumer spending remain healthy, with shopping centres reporting sustained traffic and sales growth.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cement demand remains robust: Demand for cement continues to expand in high single digits, indicating ongoing construction activity and infrastructure growth.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Domestic demand holding firm: Consumption patterns across sectors suggest economic activity remains broad-based rather than dependent on isolated industries.<\/p>\n
Why India is less exposed to crude shocks<\/p>\n
Mishra explained that India\u2019s oil vulnerability differs from many other importing nations because domestic fuel companies also operate as refiners.<\/p>\n
When geopolitical tensions push up refining margins, Indian refiners gain a natural buffer that offsets part of the impact from rising crude prices.<\/p>\n
He illustrated that while crude prices have climbed sharply, refining gains have prevented the full burden from being passed on to the economy. As a result, India\u2019s effective energy cost increase has been lower than that faced by several other oil-importing countries.<\/p>\n
According to Mishra, the situation has improved further as crude prices have moderated in recent weeks and diesel refining margins have eased.<\/p>\n
No immediate need for further fuel price hikes<\/p>\n
Mishra said current market conditions do not require another round of major fuel price increases.<\/p>\n
He noted that the cushion available within the pricing system remains adequate and that earlier fears of significantly larger fuel subsidies have not materialised. Inventory releases by major economies have also helped cool global oil prices from recent peaks.<\/p>\n
Oil remains a headwind, but not a derailment risk<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that expensive crude can slow economic momentum, Mishra argued that it is unlikely to fundamentally alter India\u2019s growth path.<\/p>\n
He estimated that crude prices around USD 100 per barrel create a measurable drag on growth, but not one severe enough to push the economy off course.<\/p>\n
Using an aviation analogy, he compared the situation to an aircraft encountering headwinds: the speed may reduce temporarily, but the flight continues toward its destination.<\/p>\n
Currency poses bigger challenge<\/p>\n
Among the risks facing the economy, Mishra identified currency management as a greater concern than growth itself.<\/p>\n
According to him, India today is far better prepared to handle energy price volatility than during previous oil shocks because of stronger fiscal discipline and more resilient macroeconomic fundamentals.<\/p>\n
Outlook remains positive<\/p>\n
Mishra maintained that the combination of strong domestic demand, improving credit conditions and India\u2019s refining advantage should allow the economy to continue expanding at a healthy pace despite global turbulence.<\/p>\n
While energy prices will remain an important variable to watch, he argued that the bigger challenge is overcoming negative perceptions until economic data continues to validate the country\u2019s resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June 8, 2026 NEW DELHI \u2013 Even as rising tensions in West Asia fuel concerns over energy prices…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-627620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}