India ‘will choose well’: Economic Survey quotes Yama from Katha Upanishad to make case for playing the long game

Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran invoked a verse from the Katha Upanishad in the preface to the Economic Survey to underline the importance of long-term policy choices over short-term expediency at a time of global uncertainty and geopolitical churn.

Quoting the verse that contrasts Śreya (the enduring good) with Preya (the fleeting comfort), the CEA said the message was “timeless”, as every moment demands a choice between delayed gratification and immediate relief.

“Yama’s message in the Katha Upanishad is timeless: every moment asks us to choose between Śreya, the enduring good, and Preya, the fleeting comfort,” Nageswaran wrote, adding that “the mature mind chooses Śreya; the immature mind settles for Preya”.

The reference, he said, was intended to frame India’s current economic moment, where policy decisions must prioritise resilience and relentless innovation rather than quick fixes to visible, short-term pressures.

“In other words, the country stands to gain immensely when all of us embrace delayed gratification,” the preface said.

The Survey noted that India’s economy “retains momentum” and that growth is likely to be sustained into FY27, with the government revising the country’s potential growth rate to 7%, up from 6.5% three years ago.

At that time, the Survey had anticipated weaker global tailwinds, particularly from exports, but argued that sustained domestic reforms and public investment could lift underlying growth capacity.

“That possibility is now being realised,” Nageswaran said.

The Survey highlighted expansion in infrastructure, including the doubling of the airport network over the past decade and rapid growth in inland waterways freight movement, which has eased logistics constraints and raised economy-wide efficiency.

It also pointed to subdued core inflation, excluding gold and silver, as a sign of strengthening supply-side conditions, alongside state-level deregulation efforts that are helping small and medium enterprises integrate into formal value chains.

Nageswaran said that the evidence presented in the Economic Survey shows that “India will choose well.”