India's Economic Strength Tied to Inclusive Growth, VP Radhakrishnan Says

New Delhi, Oct 3 – Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan told an audience at the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave that the true measure of India’s economic resilience will be whether growth benefits reach every citizen and every region. He warned that relying solely on GDP as a yardstick ignores the needs of those left behind. "Our capacity to weather difficult times will be judged by how well we ensure that no one is excluded," the Vice President said in his opening address.

Radhakrishnan placed women’s participation at the heart of an inclusive agenda, arguing that education and access to economic opportunities will enable more women to take on leadership roles. "We want to empower women, give them the right to education, and let them become the architects of their own strength," he asserted.

He highlighted India’s transition from a developing to a developed economy as a period of positive change, urging policymakers to balance high growth rates with strong inclusion measures. Financial inclusion, he noted, is a cornerstone of resilience, not just large infrastructure or market performance.

Citing the success of the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) architecture, the Vice President illustrated how digital financial inclusion and direct benefit transfers have broadened access to banking services and welfare payments.

He also pointed out that over 2.5 crore Indians have escaped poverty in the last decade and praised the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the country’s biggest tax reform.

In the first quarter of FY 2026-27, real GDP grew 7.8% year‑on‑year, up from 6.9% in the same period of FY 2025-26, with the economy estimated at ₹81.36 lakh crore compared with ₹75.46 lakh crore a year earlier.