PM reviews economic roadmap
India must continue its development agenda despite global challenges
A day after economic growth data for the fiscal year 2026 came out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired a meeting of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC to PM) to discuss the impact of the West Asia crisis on the Indian economy and ways ahead. Though no specific decision was announced after the meeting, various new reform measures to ease doing business, boost consumption and give relief to people were discussed.
The Prime Minister is understood to have emphasised the need for preparedness in the face of a volatile international environment, stressing that India must continue advancing its development agenda despite global challenges. The discussions centered on safeguarding supply chains, containing inflationary pressures and ensuring that economic growth remains on a stable trajectory. The meeting also reflected the Government’s broader approach of combining short-term crisis management with long-term structural reforms.
The members of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) also gave their assessment of the impact of the West Asia conflict on India and the world. Various reforms to improve ease of living and ease of doing business were also discussed at the high-level meeting, the sources said. “Chaired a meeting of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Deliberated on a wide range of issues relating to India’s economic transformation and long-term development priorities. Also shared perspectives on adding more momentum to the reforms journey and ensuring Ease of Living as well as Ease of Doing Business,” Modi said in a social media post. The meeting was also attended by two principal secretaries to the Prime Minister — PK Mishra and Shaktikanta Das.
The EAC is an independent body that gives advice to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister, on economic and related issues. Two principal secretaries to the Prime Minister — PK Mishra and Shaktikanta Das — attended the meeting, besides the members of the EAC. At present, the EAC comprises a chairman, three full-time members and 11 part-time members. S Mahendra Dev is the chairman, while full-time members are Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Sanjeev Sanyal and Shamika Ravi.
There are 11 part-time members: Rakesh Mohan, Sajjid Z Chinoy, Neelkanth Mishra, Nilesh Shah, TT Ram Mohan, Soumya Kanti Ghosh, KV Raju, Chetan Ghate, Pami Dua, Pulak Ghosh and Gaurav Vallabh.
The terms of reference of EAC include analysing any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the Prime Minister, and advising him thereon, addressing issues of macroeconomic importance and presenting views thereon to the PM.
These could be either suo-motu or on reference from the Prime Minister or anyone else. They also include attending to any other task as may be desired by the PM from time to time.
The meeting took place amid better-than-expected growth prints for 2026, announced on Friday. During the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2026, the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 7.8 per cent year-on-year, while full-year growth is pegged at 7.7 per cent. Real GDP at constant prices is estimated at Rs 87.77 lakh crore in Q4 FY26, up from Rs 81.40 lakh crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Nominal GDP for the quarter is estimated at Rs 94.65 lakh crore, registering a growth of 9.1 per cent.
