India’s 7.8% growth reflects people’s hard work, says Nirmala Sitharaman

BENGALURU: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India’s 7.8 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter was not a “random number” but a result of the hard work of people, industry, small businesses and MSMEs. She said government policies provided the framework for economic activity, while the growth itself reflected the contribution of people across the country.

Speaking at a conference in Bengaluru, Sitharaman said the government should not take sole credit for growth and instead attributed it to the collective efforts of Indians and businesses. “Q1 growth of 7.8 per cent is not a random number, and I don’t take the credit from my side or the government’s side. I give the entire credit to the people of India, hardworking industry, small MSMEs and everybody,” she said.

The FM said government policies functioned as the “framework or rail track” on which the economic train moved. However, she stressed that industry needed to understand the broader global environment while assessing India’s economic performance.

Sitharaman urged Indian businesses to remain in close contact with their counterparts in other countries to understand the challenges being faced by economies globally. She said the international economic environment remained difficult and that businesses were navigating multiple uncertainties.

She also expressed concern over what she termed a “continuing commentary” that nothing was happening in India. While acknowledging that there were areas where India needed to improve, she said the challenges should be addressed collectively rather than through persistent negative commentary.

According to Sitharaman, people’s hard work was reflected not only in the 7.8 per cent growth figure but also in GST collections. She pointed to the strength of GST collections even after rates were brought down as part of last year’s reforms.

India was better placed to deal with global challenges because of policy certainty provided by the government, she said, and referred to the government having been elected for a third term which contributed to certainty. However, Sitharaman cautioned that the next six months would not be easy, citing tariff threats, ongoing wars and continued challenges related to crude oil and fertiliser prices. These were critical concerns for India because crude oil and fertiliser constitute a significant part of the country’s imports, she said.

Despite these challenges, she said India was navigating the global economic environment in a manner to protect its people from the impact. Sitharaman called on industry to retain its confidence, continue working with the government and understand that the challenges facing India were part of a wider global environment.