Pursuing political and economic development a challenge: CEA Arvind Subramanian

Kolkata: Pursuing both political and economic development at the same time is a big challenge for the country, Chief Economic Adviser to the India government Arvind Subramanian said on Saturday.

"Pursuing both political and economic development for a country like India is a challenging task," Subramanian said.

"India is trying to do both economic and political development at the same time. Believe me, it is a very difficult task," he said at the convocation of the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST).

The task becomes more challenging because of the plurality of the Indian society in terms of caste, gender, creed etc, he said.

Subramanian was conferred D.Litt (honoris causa) by the IIEST, formerly BE College Shibpur, for his contribution to economics.

Stating that India's economic performance has not been poor, he said, "Very few democracies have grown rapidly for a long period of time, very few of them eliminated poverty over such a quick span and very few democracies like India have achieved amazing things in science," he said.