GITA GOPINATH

— Hari Singh sekhawat —

A lot of people are angry with Gita Gopinath, former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, because she criticised India’s environmental situation. She said pollution kills Indians and that investors think twice before putting money into a country with such conditions.

So let me ask a very basic question. What exactly is wrong in what she said? Is it unpatriotic to state a fact that millions of Indians die every year due to pollution? Is it anti India to point out that poor air and water affect productivity, healthcare costs and long term growth?

For those saying she “bad mouthed” India, I find that sentiment deeply ignorant. Do people really believe global investors decide where to put billions based on one interview? Do they think investors are unaware of the realities of markets they study for years before investing? No serious investor invests or pulls out because Gita Gopinath said something. They invest based on data, risk, long term stability and quality of life.

And let us not forget something important. At the very same summit, she clearly said India is on track to become the world’s third largest economy by 2028. That part somehow got omitted from existence.

In her Davos 2026 interaction with India Today at the World Economic Forum Davos, she made one central point. Pollution is not an activist issue. It is a macro economic issue. She highlighted that pollution causes around 1.7 million deaths in India every year and costs us between 5 to 9 percent of GDP through health loss and reduced productivity.

Tariffs are temporary and negotiable. Pollution is a permanent drag. She also made a practical point investors understand very well. When companies move capital, they move people. If cities are unlivable, high value investment hesitates.

This is not hatred for India. This is concern for India. Let economists be economists. Comment based on “economic realism” and not “nationalist sentiment.”. Let’s not try to turn them into godi economists. Real patriotism is fixing problems, not shooting the messenger.