Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri says India must Remove Investment Barriers

Key Takeaways

• Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri told Moneycontrol that India needs aggressive reforms to attract investment. His exact words, “You must facilitate investment rather than creating obstacles. We have improved quite a bit, but there’s a long way to go.”
   
• Lahiri replaced Suman Bery as the Vice Chairman on May 8, 2026. He says India is asking the wrong growth question. The focus should be investment, not consumption.

Niti Aayog’s New Chief Says India’s Growth Debate is Asking the Wrong Question

India grew 7.6% in FY26. Lahiri is not impressed. He says the real problem is that India’s investment rate is too low compared to where China and the East Asian Tigers were at a similar stage. Growth built on consumption alone does not last.

The short-term risk is already visible. PE and VC deals dropped from ₹1,01,320 crore in Q1 CY2025 to ₹82,660 crore in Q1 CY2026. Global factors play a part. But domestic red tape and slow approvals are just as responsible. That is what Lahiri is pushing back on.

How Will Faster Investment Reforms in India Create More Jobs and Cheaper Loans for Common People? 

More investment means more factories coming up. It means more jobs in manufacturing and services. When approvals take years and rules keep changing, businesses either wait or go elsewhere. That cost falls on workers, not on boardrooms.

India’s investment rate will need to climb from 33.5% of GDP to 40% by 2035 for it to achieve the high-income goal by 2047, says the World Bank. 

What Are Experts Saying About India’s Low Investment Rate and How to Fix It? 

In his first interview after taking charge, Lahiri said a drop in consumption will not hurt growth if investment picks up. That is a direct challenge to policymakers who keep pushing demand-side fixes.

At the CII Annual Business Summit 2026, Niti Aayog full-time member Rajiv Gauba said India must shift from “prohibited unless permitted” to “permitted unless prohibited” to push reforms forward. Two senior voices at the same institution are saying the same thing. The message from the top is clear.

The World Bank backs this up. It says simplifying FDI rules and removing credit barriers for small businesses are non-negotiable steps for India to hit its growth targets. These are not new recommendations. The gap is in how fast they get done.

Conclusion

Lahiri is not making a complicated argument. He is saying India has everything it needs except speed. Fewer approvals, stable rules, and less paperwork will bring capital in. The growth story is already there. The job now is to stop slowing it down.

FAQs 

What economic policy shift in India should we expect with Niti Aayog’s new Vice Chairman, Ashok Lahiri?

Lahiri wants India to stop chasing growth through consumption. He wants to attract more companies to invest here. This means more approvals, smoother regulations, and fewer regulatory obstacles. He took office in May 2026 and has already challenged the idea that more spending can maintain growth. 

Why does Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri want Indians to buy less gold?

Lahiri says Indians’ spending on gold drains foreign exchange reserves without adding economic value. His words, “If you do not buy gold, you will spend that money on something else, or hopefully save it in the bank where it can be reinvested.” He believes savings in banks or markets do far more for the economy.