BackIndia continues to be fastest growing economy despite pandemic, says Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister quoted IMF and other international agencies to show India continues to be the fastest-growing economy in the world
PremiumIndia continues to be the fastest growing economy in the assessment of international agencies despite numerous challenges Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday emphasizing the role played by her government to battle the numerous challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia - Ukraine War and supply chain disruptions.
"Pandemic, second wave, Omicron, Russia-Ukraine (war), even today largest supply components in China are under lockdown. In spite of that, we have held inflation well within 7 per cent or below. That has to be recognised," She says in Lok Sabha
She further adds, "4,000 banks in China are reported to be going bankrupt. In India, the gross NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) of scheduled commercial banks is at a 5-years low of 5.9 per cent in 2022. So our NPAs are improving. The government debt to GDP Ratio of many countries is in triple digits including Japan, Greece, Bhutan, Singapore, the US, Portugal, Spain, France, Sri Lanka and Canada. But the central government very consciously controlled its debt and it is at 56.29 per cent of the GDP at the end of 2021-22 compared to the 59.9 per cent revised estimate that year."
"Repeatedly in the assessment of global agencies, India remains the fastest growing economy. This House irrespective of the party should feel proud of the country and its people. State governments have helped.", She said speaking on the debate on price rise at the Lok Sabha
FM emphasized the efforts taken by the Indian government to deal with these challenges while recognizing the efforts of everyone including MPs and State governments to tide over the pandemic and stand together in the face of adversity.
She says, "We have never seen a pandemic of this kind. All of us were trying to make sure that people in our constituencies are given extra help. I recognise that everybody -MPs and state governments have played their role. Otherwise, India would not be where it is compared to the rest of the world. So, I fully credit the people of India for this. Even against adversity, we are able to stand up and be recognised as the fastest growing economy,"
On the issue of forex reserves and state of the economy, She says India's economic fundamentals are perfect, it has sufficient forex reserves and the price of consumer items like edible oils has also corrected sharply corrected due to measures taken by the government.
She says there is no possibility of India getting into stagflation or recession like other major economies of the world.
' There is no question of India getting into recession'
Highlighting India's robust economic health despite the COVID pandemic and geo-political situation, Sitharaman said there is no question of India getting into stagflation or recession like other major economies of the world.
She says just because the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of the US fell by 0.9 per cent does not mean that there is an 'unofficial recession'. She added, " There is no question of India getting into recession or stagflation,"
Sitharam said, quoting IMF data, India's general debt to GDP ratio is 86.9 per cent including the Centre and the state.
She also highlighted the strong GST numbers, saying they are at the second highest level since the introduction of the GST at ₹1.49 lakh crore.
She quoted former Reserve Bank of India(RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan's statement on the good health of the Indian economy to make her point. She says "On Saturday, Raghuram Rajan said that 'RBI has done a good job in increasing foreign exchange reserves in India, insulating India from problems being faced by neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka."
Amid Sitharaman's reply to the debate on price rise, Congress members walked out from Lok Sabha.
With inputs from ANI
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