Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that India will continue to grow despite the conditions of global trade that have been brought about by US trade tariffs.
This growth will be due to the economy's resilience and strong domestic demand, she said at an interaction organised at the High Commission of India in London.
Sitharaman emphasised on the economy's readiness to capitalise on domestic efficiencies and competitiveness amidst global economic headwinds.
“The world has seen depressed growth for over several years; earlier, it was low interest for long and now it's going to be low growth for long, and that's not happy news for anybody,” said Sitharaman, who is on her first UK visit in her current Union Cabinet term.
“India has maintained its fastest growing economy tag continuously now for five years and we still think that momentum may moderate a bit, but it will still be India who will keep that growth… as our growth gets calibrated because of the consumption which exists domestically. It is backed by demand for global-standard goods and that is why globalisation since the 1990s has given India many opportunities,” she said.
“The US is the leading trade partner for India. So, at a time when trade is going to be influenced by tariffs, measures which the US government is taking, we still will have to make sure that the strength that India has in domestic demand as a big magnet which can attract global supplies must be sustained and boosted,” she noted.
The minister stated that India's strong domestic demand would attract foreign direct investment and encourage international manufacturers to both supply the local market and export from India.
“We think India, and a few emerging markets, are going to be the engines of growth. The global depressed growth, if it has to pick up, will have to be because of these engines,” she said.
(With PTI inputs)
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