India’s economic resilience strengthens global leadership prospects: Jean-Pierre Landau

New Delhi: India is well positioned to withstand a volatile global economy marked by geopolitical tensions, higher interest rates and rising stress in the advanced economy bond markets, said Jean-Pierre Landau, associate professor of economics at Sciences Po and former deputy governor, Bank of France. He noted that the country's resilience is increasingly positioning it to play a larger leadership role in the global order.

"India is displaying exceptionally great resilience in the current volatile and uncertain environment," said Landau, pointing to sustained growth, expanding exports, new trade agreements and continued foreign investment.

Landau observed stronger confidence emanating from India about its growth prospects and its ability to confront coming challenges. He added that in this geopolitical environment, India is going to be a major actor in BRICS, Asia and also among emerging economies. He noted that AI could provide an opportunity for India to take a leadership role, as the world needs someone to take initiatives to create a process of discussion and consultation on technology, adding that he would be happy to see India take such an initiative.


Landau said one of the big changes in the global financial system is that debt problems are now more visible in advanced economies, especially the US. Bond markets in these economies have become more volatile, and their traditional status as safe assets has also weakened. This could increase the risk of financial shocks around the world. India, however, is "extremely well placed" to deal with such shocks because it has buffers in terms of foreign-exchange reserves, fiscal capacity and a strong banking and financial system.

At the same time, higher US long-term yields will make global borrowing and capital more expensive. "Capital will be more expensive for everybody...nobody can be totally immune to the kind of shocks that this new environment would provide, but India certainly is not one of the countries which is most vulnerable," he said.

Skilling: India's concern

The biggest constraint on India's ability to sustain its growth, however, remains domestic, particularly its ability to prepare its large workforce for structural changes in the economy. Landau said workforce training and qualification remain a key priority, with the rapid development of AI making the challenge more urgent. "The current signs indicate that first-time job seekers may be the ones who are most directly affected," he said, stressing that the issue is common to advanced and emerging economies.

For India, he argued, the response should go beyond technical training.

Students should be able to "dominate and use" AI tools rather than become servants of them, he said. Non-technical skills including teamwork, interpersonal interaction and the ability to work with people from different backgrounds will also become increasingly important.