The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Thursday that India’s inflation and external debt remain well within target levels despite global shocks, reflecting the resilience of India’s economic management.“India’s strong fundamentals, resilient financial sector, and forward-looking reforms continue to reinforce global investor confidence in the India growth story,” Malhotra said in an interaction arranged by the Consulate General of India in New York.Malhotra highlighted India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, robust policy frameworks, and the steady rise of its financial markets, noting foreign exchange reserves of around US$ 700 billion. He also underscored India’s expanding global economic engagement, including the conclusion of eight free trade agreements covering 37 countries, and the growing depth of government and corporate bond markets.The governor further highlighted India’s continued commitment to regulatory reforms and enhanced ease of access and operations for foreign investors.The interaction was attended by investors, senior banking officials and industry leaders.Earlier, in the minutes of the MPC meeting held on April 8, Malhotra has warned that rising global energy prices, higher input costs, potential El Niño conditions, and escalating geopolitical conflicts in West Asia expanding over the past month all pose increasing risks to inflation.According to him, as a result, supply chain disruptions, that may take longer to subside fully and restore the logistics network, pose downside risks to growth and upside risks to inflation. “Nevertheless, the Indian economy is on a much stronger footing at the current juncture than at any time before to withstand these shocks,” he said as per the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.Story continues below this ad“As for monetary policy, this represents a supply shock,” he said. The underlying inflation pressures, minus the shock, are contained. If the conflict remains unresolved for a long duration, it can make the task of central banks arduous in their endeavour to rein in inflation expectations while minimising growth sacrifice, Malhotra said.The MPC meeting on April 8 kept the policy Repo rate unchanged at 5.25%. However, the central bank projected that India’s GDP growth will decline to 6.9% in FY27 from 7.6% in FY26. On the other hand, headline retail inflation is set to average 4.6% in the current fiscal.MPC statement said the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia has led to severe disruption of global supply chains. This poses an unprecedented challenge for the global economy — higher prices and lower global growth. © The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Reserve Bank of India