According to Rajan, if one were to strip away the "fluff" from India's growth numbers, the actual rate could be hovering around 6-6.5%, notably lower than the widely touted 8-8.5% range.

"Businesses are worried about the government changing the terms on them, about them privileging the tax authority to raise demands all the time. Eventually, these demands get thrown out of courts, but it is five or ten years of uncertainty," Rajan said.

Comparing India’s situation to that of China and Korea during their demographic dividend phases, Rajan noted a significant disparity, “We are falling short of where China and Korea were when they reaped their dividends. This discrepancy is concerning”

"We’ve got many more years of hard work to do to ensure the hype is real," Rajan remarked, cautioning against political narratives that propagate premature notions of India's arrival on the global economic stage. He stressed that succumbing to such beliefs would be a "serious mistake," highlighting the enduring significance of addressing fundamental structural deficiencies.