India close to double digit growth this year: Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India is looking at close to double digit growth this year and the country will be one of the fastest growing economies. The minister also emphasized that he expects economic growth next year to be in the range of 7.5-8.5 per cent, which will continue for the next decade.
“As far as India’s growth is concerned, we are looking at close to double digit growth this year and it will be the highest in the world. And for next year, on a year to year basis, (a) growth is definitely will be somewhere in the range of eight (percent),” Sitharaman said during an interaction at Harvard Kennedy School here on Tuesday.
He said that the Finance Ministry has not yet made any assessment about the growth numbers, but the World Bank, IMF and rating agencies have all come close to such growth numbers for India.
“So, next year will also be somewhere in the range of eight to nine (percent), an increase of 7.5 to 8.5 (percent). And I expect that for the next decade, because of the rate. Expanding, the rate at which services are expanding, I see no reason for India to shrink in any way over the next decades.”
During a conversation with Harvard University professor Lawrence Summers during talks organized by the Mosawar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Sitharaman when asked about the state of the global economy said: “I don’t think you have a The picture may be. For the world as a whole. Emerging market economies are likely to recover rapidly and have a growth trajectory, which will probably also be titled as engines of growth. They are the ones that are going to propel the global economy. are.”
“And in that, at least from the data released yesterday and a week ago, I can say that India’s growth this year will be the highest in the world, of course, based on last year’s low base, but that’s next. Will continue for years. And there too, we will be one of the fastest growing economies.”
He added that some other countries in emerging market areas will also register higher growth rates.
“The developed world will also catch up, because their base is much higher. So, the growth they can show will not be close to double digits, but will certainly add to global growth as well,” she said. Sees “different picture in different regions”.
Asked about sustained growth of 8 per cent, a historical rarity, medium and long-term vision of where that growth is going to come from, Sitharaman underlined that the post-pandemic growth of any country is comparable to that of the earlier. can be done. , before the pandemic.
“The reset that the world has seen tells you a narrative that the way countries are going to plan their development is going to be very different than before,” he said.
She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic itself is one of the reasons for the reset, which is happening from certain geographies where people are coming out of it, looking for other places from where they can run their business Because you no longer have transparency and the rule of law in certain geographies.
“Therefore, the industry is the first to exit. Investments are the first to exit and they are looking for destinations where certain assumptions can be taken – rule of law, democracy, transparent policies and assurances that you are with one of the things. The broader global framework and that you are not an outsider, that you have nothing to do with the global scheme of things, and that is not good for us.”
The minister said that these are all external factors that helped India attract industries to set up business there. He also told that India itself is a huge market.
“Today, our demographic dividend is not a dividend without reason. It is a dividend, which has great purchasing power. The middle class in India has money to buy things,” he said, adding people who are moving from other destinations to India. There will be a captive market to invest in and produce in India.
“The same demographic dividend also gives us another advantage – today India’s youth population is a skilled pool of young people skilled in various fields, most of whom are in STEM,” the minister said.
Sitharaman said India will attract investment and whoever produces it will have the purchasing power to demand the best of things.
India is still the best in agriculture. “The food security of many countries depends on imported food. Many people in the Middle East depend on India for their basic food items. We will be one of the largest exporters of food and processed food,” he said.
Similarly, labor intensive units, partly skilled manufacturing of parts and components for labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, footwear, leather, and industry, are manufactured in India.
“So, I see every reason to believe that this 7.5 to 8.5 (percent) growth is absolutely sustainable for the next decade. These are characteristics that don’t exist together in one country. You have one in one country.” Maybe, and another in a different country. But India has it all,” the minister said.
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