Presenting India’s 2019 budget on July 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sketched out the Modi government’s vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024, almost doubling the country’s current gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.73 trillion. To achieve this ambitious goal, India plans to liberalize foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and tap international bond markets to fund its budget deficit. The latter is a risky enterprise and ensures exchange rate policy becomes a future battleground. However, India’s economic growth has been slowing over the past two quarters, and the government has limited options to raise funds domestically, forcing it to look at external foreign currency borrowing. The government is betting that external borrowing combined with FDI inflows will lead to greater domestic investment and thus higher growth.

Senior Research Associate
Yagyavalk Bhatt is an energy professional with more than seven years of experience in the transportation and electricity domain. His…
Yagyavalk Bhatt is an energy professional with more than seven years of experience in the transportation and electricity domain. His research focuses on transportation demand planning, demand and supply models of energy and transportation systems, and cost-benefit analysis. His work includes policy analysis of South Asia’s clean energy transition. His work also focuses on the impact of supply- and demand-side policies on the adoption of fuel-efficient transportation modes and their associated energy demand. He has authored and contributed to numerous research papers and studies related to the transportation and electricity sectors. Yagyavalk has a master’s degree in renewable energy management and engineering from The Energy Resource Institute (TERI) University, India, and a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication.
Expertise
- Policy Analysis
- Transport Demand Modeling
- Sustainable Transport
- Clean Energy Transition
- Renewable Energy and Climate Change
Publications See all Yagyavalk Bhatt’s publications

Insights from India’s Journey to Over 100 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy
Presenting India’s 2019 budget on July 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sketched out the Modi…
7th December 2022
Indiaʼs Updated NDC: A Pathway to Net-Zero by 2070?
Presenting India’s 2019 budget on July 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sketched out the Modi…
16th October 2022