R. Vijaykumar (left), Executive Director, Madras Management Association, exchanging an MoU with Purushotham, CGM (Corporate Planning and Business Development), CPCL, in the presence of H Shankar, Managing Director, CPCL for the MMA-CPCL-SOOPER lectures, in Chennai | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

The framework of the new peace deal between the US and Iran is welcome for oil importing countries like India and it should be a catalyst to deepen reforms and grow faster, the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, said on Monday.

‘The peace deal that has been announced in terms of its framework, therefore, is very welcome for an oil, natural gas and fertiliser importing country like India, and I hope it lasts. This is the environment in which India must keep growing fast and keep reforming faster,” Nageswaran said.

“India is not in a crisis. We are at a fork. The world that allowed us to grow for three decades, has changed in ways that are not temporary,” he added.

The CEA was speaking virtually at the inaugural CPCL - SOOPER - MMA Leadership Lecture series held in Chennai. The topic of his speech was ‘Public sector leadership in nation building.’

Laying down the ground reality, he highlighted that the era of cheap global capital was over, and money that once chased yield into emerging markets now has alternatives at home. “Every dollar that comes to India must clear a higher bar than before and rate power competition has hardened,” he said.

Nageswaran said that while the private sector is plagued by a “a disease of incentives” chasing short horizon goals, a public enterprise is not run with short-term results in mind, and hence is better placed to build deep capabilities. “It can take on projects that gestate over 15 years and pay back over 50 years,” he said.

He called on the public sector to step in, and apply its “long horizon” strategy to a new set of problems that the country now faces. These include aiding in resource and energy security, including acceleration of nuclear energy; focusing on research and development; nurturing of small and medium enterprises; and learning to compress their decision-making timelines.

The public sector must invest, to build and take responsibility for capabilities that will mature long after one’s own tenure has ended, he added.

Also addressing the event, H Shankar, Managing Director, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), spoke about how the public sector oil major had reinvented itself over the years. This includes our recent foray into retail marketing of fuel, he said. “It is a milestone moment; it required a lot of courage to step into unfamiliar territory,” he added.

Besides exchanging an MoU with the Madras Management Association (MMA) for the MMA- CPCL Annual Endowment Lecture, he also paid tribute to Late V. R. Deenadayalu, Former Chairman and Managing Director, CPCL.

The CPCL-MMA lecture series aims to create a thought leadership platform that brings together policymakers, industry leaders, management professionals, academia, and young executives to engage in meaningful dialogue on leadership, governance, sustainability, and institution building in the public sector ecosystem.

Published on June 15, 2026