Ruchir Sharma says he won't advise PM Narendra Modi on Indian economy

A prominent investor does not want to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi how the economy can grow more. Ruchir Sharma, head of emerging markets and chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, says he might have a lot of ideas for the growth of the Indian economy, but he is not willing to advise Prime Minister Narendra Modi on it.

“I would rather observe, than advise,” he said, adding that no one quite listens to his suggestions. Sharma was speaking at a News 18 event.

Sharma said he had once told Russian President Vladimir Putin that when he first came to power he was a reformer but things changed later. He said Putin even took notes. However, Sharma said, the next morning all the newspapers criticised him for advising Putin and asked him to leave the country.


When asked if he would want to advise Modi, Sharma said, "I will not advise on anything regarding India. I love the country and want to come back,” he said.

Speaking on India's banking crisis, Sharma blamed too much regulation. “Every country needs a public sector but no country is as unbalanced as India. PSU banks hold 2/3rd of the assets, while private banks are involved in more transactions. This is choking the Indian banking sector. There is regulatory overkill in the Indian banking sector because private banks will keep lending, but central banks are still holding assets,” he said.

He said India has the highest number of millionaires leaving the country. “Since 2014, 23,000 millionaires have left this country. In 2017, about 7,000 millionaires left India. The year before it was 4,000. A major side-effect of this is that you need your own people to invest in your country. This affects domestic markets.”

“India has more good billionaires than bad billionaires. There are 60 percent inherited billionaires in India. The dynasty culture is also persistent," he said.