Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has struck a cautiously optimistic note on India’s growth trajectory, even as global uncertainties loom large. Historically, major economic reforms have often come as responses to pressing challenges—the liberalisation of 1991, born out of a balance-of-payments crisis, is the most obvious example. More recent changes, too, have often been triggered by immediate fiscal or political compulsions rather than a steady, proactive strategy. Economic growth cannot be separated from the social fabric that underpins it. Policy intervention must come from political leadership.