Shaktikanta Das highlights the eastward movement of the world’s economic centre of gravity, urging developing countries to seize emerging opportunities amid global geopolitical and economic challenges.
Shaktikanta Das has said the world’s economic centre of gravity is moving eastwards, arguing that countries in the Global South need to turn that shift into practical gains by tightening policy, strengthening supply chains and preparing for a more unsettled global economy.
Speaking at a session organised by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries in New Delhi, Das said the changing balance of economic power creates opportunities for developing economies that have already begun structural reform. He said governments should focus on workable strategies in food security, trade and energy transition rather than treating the moment as a purely geopolitical trend.
Das said the Global South is facing five pressing tests: food security, trade diversification, energy transition, macroeconomic stability and job creation. He warned that conflict in West Asia has pushed up energy costs and revived inflationary pressure, weighing on growth and household purchasing power. He added that geopolitical tension, trade-policy uncertainty and weather-related shocks are all adding to the strain on the global outlook.
The principal secretary to the prime minister said energy-importing countries in particular are exposed to sharper fiscal pressure and tighter foreign-exchange conditions when prices rise. In his view, the answer lies in a broader energy mix, with renewables and biofuels reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels. He also called for greater coordination, technology transfer and knowledge-sharing among Global South economies, saying these countries have increased their contribution to world growth even as they remain highly exposed to external shocks.
His remarks fit a longer-term pattern identified by economists who have tracked the shift of global output towards Asia. Academic work by Danny Quah has argued for years that the average location of economic activity has been moving east, while more recent analysis has said low- and middle-income economies now account for a large share of the world’s population and a rising share of growth. That broader trend, Das suggested, means developing countries will not only be reacting to the new order but helping shape it.
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