EP-256 | Budget 2025, Indian Economy, Taxes on Middle Class & Demographic Changes | Dr. Shamika Ravi

Dr. Shamika Ravi is a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and a Secretary to the Government of India. Her research focuses on the economics of development, including Finance, Healthcare, Urbanization, Gender Equality, Welfare and Poverty.

In this episode of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Dr. Shamika Ravi talks about India’s economic outlook for 2025 and whether the world’s fastest-growing economy is slowing down.

She also discusses women’s participation in the workforce in India and how it has changed over the past decade. Dr. Ravi highlights the challenges posed by an ageing population in southern states and explains why leaders like CM Stalin and Naidu are encouraging families to have more children.

She shares insights on the fertility rates of Hindus and Muslims in India and how population changes can impact national security and policymaking. She also speaks on NRC whether India is or not and if there is a need for anti-conversion laws.

Dr. Ravi raises concerns about election freebies and discusses whether MSP (Minimum Support Price) can be provided to farmers for all crops.

#anipodcastwithsmitaprakash #shamikaravi #budget2025

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Timestamps

00:00 – Coming Up

01:32 – Introduction

03:43 – Food Consumption Patterns in India

10:28 – India's Economic Outlook

15:37 – Gender Discrimination at Work

26:25 – Female Participation at work in India

37:14 – Naidu, Stalin's Call for 'More Children'

40:11 – Fertility Rates of Hindus, Muslims in India

48:48 – Impact of Demographic Changes on Policy-Making

58:06 – Is India Ready for the NRC?

1:04:18 – Anti-Conversion Law

1:10:06 – Are Freebies Sustainable?

1:15:51 – RSS Chief Bhagwat’s Call for ‘3 Kids’

1:21:03 – Can MSP Be Given on All Crops?

1:24:22 – Conducting the Census in India

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[xitheindianpooh]

"Demography is destiny. Bharat will be secular as long as Hindus are in majority else be ready to pay jizya and convert to monotheistic religions."

[SoumyadeepBhunia]

I lost my father due to brain cancer last year! He studied economics and served Bank! This is the type of communication I use to have with him. Thanks for this episode Smitha

[solitude]

Im hearing Ms Shamika for the first time and what beautiful episode this turned out.
Thank you Smita

[prb]

Finally someone come up with data and lots of guts and balls👏👏👏

[sweetguy]

Absolutely brilliant, one of the best podcasts 🙏🙏

[PalaniSwamyXYZ]

Smita's discussion with Dr. Shamika is absolutely brilliant! The clarity, tone n flow are superb. Looking forward to hear them in an another round on yet another subject.

[paramchavan]

I had the privilege of attending Dr. Ravi's course at BITS School of Management on Microeconomics, one of the best faculty I've studied under.

[vamsikrishna]

50:59 what highway is smitha talking about, as Hindus we cannot send our daughters freely to a colony which is dominantly Muslim without being teased.
Women instinctively know the moment they enter a Muslim majority colony and nervousness shows on their faces.

[skraman]

Regarding forceful conversions, one of the effective solution for Hindus is by freeing Hindu Temples and it's eco-system... Because it will take care of fundamental requirements like education, health care etc., plus religious education will drastically reduce religious conversion. On the other no govt including Modi govt will allow this to go from their hands because forming such ecosystems reduces the importance of political parties...

I wish that Smitha could bring in Dr. Ankita Jain and some one from TN to talk in details what Temple eco-system coukd do...

[sundareshanal]

Shamika has the credentials and the academic gravitas to stand her firm ground against the old and vested establishment. After decades, we are having empirical economists talking about hard, brutal facts based on solid economic logic and science. She will be targetted for this viciously. She has crossed the political Rubicon that academics are expected to stay away from. It is time Shamika and others of her level of competence take immersive, data based approach and hammer out their findings. Let us have these blunt discussions of ground reality based on science and data. This should be just the beginning. This is a seminal, watershed podcast.

[sdasgupta]

India, what a wonderful crucible of societal change in a vast diverse country!! So many moving parts, all moving at different speeds!! India, you are the real deal!!

[korakatar]

Such an intelligent articulate lady! Such clarity of thought. One of the many gems in Modiji's advisory group.

[prakashojha]

Shamika ravi is on of the great thinker on economics idea.
Proud Bihari

[sripaduk]

Young Hindu couple should open their eyes. They should have 3-4 kids even though it’s difficult to bring them up. Government and Hindu organisations should support young Hindu couple

[punarvasupant]

What an articulate woman, thanks Smitha Ma’am, for inviting Shamika Ma’am

[nobufrancis]

India's youth have a time window of around 15 to 20 years to become economically prosperous before age sets in. Time is running out. At the rate the economy is functioning we are rapidly heading towards a lower middle income trap.

[vivekpmc]

Village infrastructures & opportunities including education, health care, SMEs must be built for India to develop comprehensively.
While urban centres are getting over crowded villages are emptying with only elderly ppls are living with big houses.
Children have to leave villages to pursue education and finally leading to job serches and hesitation to go back .
If all facilities & opportunities are made available...the pain of leaving families and also leaving elderly parents/grandparents/ societies/traditions /festivals living in pure serine of villages could be avoided .
It's from my own experience which I hope everyone must have ...too much crowd in public transportation, rampant slums with very very poor amenities all can be very effectively eliminated.
Keeping children closer to families and societies would also create better individuals.

[rp]

Dr. Shamika Ravi has both the brains for clear analytic thinking, as well as the fluency to eloquently explain that thinking to the public. Left wing politicians have much to learn from this lady. I hope mediocre minds like Rahul Gandhi are listening.

[swapnilshivhare]

She is saying absolutely to the point.

[Xxxxxabc]

Sorry to say but shamika has completely wrong knowledge about 80 crore Indians being fed with rice and wheat.
I am a middle class living in Mumbai.
I do not qualify for this free food and yet i am forced to buy less food and vegetables because of the high prices not just of food but for the rest of the things as well.
The only thing that has not grown is salaries!
But I don't expect shamika to talk about it because she is employed by the ruling party and Smita prakash is not expected to be aware of the ground reality because these things do not really impact her as she falls in the high/very high income group.
All I am doing is paying higher taxes and getting nothing in return.
What if something happens to me or I lose my source of income? What is the return I would be getting for paying these taxes all my life? Because the real beneficiaries are either the poor or the rich. Middle class is always shown the middle finger.

These freebies are nothing but another way to make the entire nation unproductive as you are incentivising the poor and non-tax payers to continue being where they are.
Why should I not switch to low income group, get a ration card and start taking undue advantage of these benefits as many others may be doing?

I think I made the worst mistake of my life by deciding to stay back in India in 2014, thinking that this man - Mr. Modi, will change things in the ground. I was willing to bear the cost of staying back just because of my emotional attachment with my motherland but 12 years down the line, I think I made a huge mistake. I have now started to look for opportunities overseas, in themiddle east, I am convinced that this government too is only about sigma reels and media hype.