Making globally acceptable. Indian economy to do well; to achieve 7% growth: Nirmala Sitharaman

On a day when International Monetary Fund (IMF) cuts India’s GDP forecast by 60 basis points to 6.8 per cent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed optimism that the economy will do well and is expected to achieve 7 per cent growth. She also assured that the reforms process to accelerate further.

“Reforms are going through steadily and continuously. It’s not like we’ve done that and the story ended there. We are committed to third-generation reforms and are going through with them,” she said during an interaction at the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Further, she added that pre-pandemic efforts included making the Indian economy robust with the infrastructure of not just roads but also digital infrastructure-ready financial inclusion so that everybody has access to a bank account. All this came in handy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Answering a question on priorities Modi government might have in the budget regarding specific expenditure revenue, she said the growth priorities will be kept among the top priorities, and inflation concerns will be closely examined. “Measures, specific, may be difficult at this stage because it`s a bit too early. But broadly, the growth priorities will be kept absolutely on the top, even as I speak about the concerns that inflation brings before me. So, inflation concerns will have to be addressed. But then how would you manage growth would be the natural question,” she said.

She stated that the next annual budget of India would need to be very carefully crafted to maintain the momentum of the country’s growth. She also noted that it would address inflation issues. She said the grouping of the top 20 economies of the globe has significant potential to work toward the global public good before India assumes the G-20 annual leadership in December.

“Advanced nations must bear responsibility for the “global spillover” of their political and economic policy decisions,” she said.

When asked about UPI and BHIM App to work in more and more countries, she said, “Not just that, the UPI (Unified Payments Interface), the BHIM app, and NCPI (the National Payments Corporation of India) are all now being worked in such a way that their systems in their respective country, however, robust or otherwise can talk to our system and the inter-operability itself will give strength for Indians expertise in those countries,” she said while adding that Indian is working together with many countries.

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