Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday urged India Inc. to deepen its engagement with the government and accelerate investments in sectors critical to achieving the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, saying corporate investment activity has picked up and the trend now needs to gather further momentum.
Speaking at NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards, Sitharaman said industry has already started investing in strategic sectors and the numbers are showing improvement. However, she called for greater collaboration between businesses and the government to sustain the investment cycle and support India's long-term growth ambitions.
"Industry has started investing, numbers are improving. I will urge industry for greater engagement with the government," the Finance Minister said in a message for Mumbai.
In her address, Sitharaman also said India's growth story continues to stand out globally despite geopolitical uncertainties, stressing that the country's resilience, agile policymaking and fiscal discipline have helped it remain the world's fastest-growing major economy.
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Addressing the event in Mumbai, Sitharaman said India is entering the second half of the financial year as the fastest-growing engine of the global economy, with growth remaining broad-based across sectors.
"India's story is one of resilience" and "India's story is one of agile policymaking," the Finance Minister said, adding that several high-frequency indicators continue to point towards sustained economic momentum.
On inflation, Sitharaman said India continues to face imported inflation as geopolitical tensions push up global prices. She warned that inflationary pressures have intensified due to ongoing conflicts and said the El Niño weather phenomenon could also influence inflation trends this year.
The Finance Minister said the government has made adequate provisions to deal with the possible impact of El Niño and has set aside resources to address uncertainties. However, she clarified that the government does not intend to revisit or readjust Budget numbers despite these evolving risks.
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