Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her address in the Lok Sabha has termed the dip in GDP growth a “temporary blip” and projected confidence in a strong recovery. She defended the government’s economic policies, citing controlled inflation, job creation and robust capital expenditure.
Sitharaman acknowledged the 5.4 per cent GDP growth in Q2 as slower than expected, describing it as a “challenging quarter” influenced by global economic headwinds. But she emphasised India remains the fastest-growing major economy, with an average growth rate of 8.3 per cent over the past three years.
She expressed confidence growth would rebound in the coming quarters, attributing it to the resilience of the people and ongoing government initiatives.
“The real growth rate for Q1 and Q2 of this financial year (FY25) has been 6.7 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively. At 5.4 per cent, 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.
