NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has termed the second quarter GDP growth slowdown a temporary blip and expressed her confidence that the economy will see healthy growth in the coming quarters.
Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants, FM said India has seen “steady and sustained” growth and its GDP growth rate has averaged 8.3% in the last three years.
She reiterated that India continues to be the fastest-growing major economy in the world, and the credit for which goes to the people of India who are meeting their aspirations, and contributing to the economy.
“The real growth rate for Q1 and Q2 of this fiscal(FY25) has been 6.7% and 5.4%, respectively. At 5.4%, the Q2 rate is slower than expected...Q2 of this financial year has been a challenging quarter for India and most other economies of the world,” she said.
The finance minister further said there is no broad-based slowdown in the manufacturing sector. “A generalised slowdown in manufacturing is not expected, as it is restricted to few segments...out of 23 manufacturing sectors in the Index of Industrial Production, about half of them remain strong even now,” she said.
She further said that the capital expenditure of the Union Government has grown by 6.4% between July and October 2024. On inflation, Sitharaman claimed it is better controlled in the NDA regime, whereas under the UPA, it touched double digits.