'India’s Growth Faces Bigger Risk From Pollution Than Trump Tariffs', Says IMF's Gita Gopinath

At a time when global attention is fixed on Trump’s tariff threats, former IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath says India faces a much more dangerous and permanent economic risk — pollution. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Gopinath argued that pollution’s impact on productivity, healthcare spending and economic output far outweighs the damage caused by tariffs so far. She said pollution quietly undermines growth by harming worker health, increasing public costs and discouraging long-term investment. Highlighting a World Bank estimate, she pointed out that pollution claims 1.7 million lives annually in India, nearly one-fifth of all deaths. Gopinath stressed that for international investors, environmental quality matters as much as policy stability. Her message challenges India to shift focus from short-term trade shocks to long-term environmental reforms that directly shape economic resilience.