India’s economic fundamentals remain strong amid global uncertainty: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI: Despite global uncertainty caused by the West Asia crisis, India has navigated the turbulence with its economic fundamentals intact and strengthened, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

Addressing the special plenary on "Resilience in an Age of Flux: India's Economic Priorities" at the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026, Sitharaman said global public debt had risen to nearly 94 per cent of GDP in 2025 and was projected to reach 100 per cent by 2029. She said India's real GDP grew 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of FY 2026-27, while CPI inflation stood at about 4.8 per cent in August 2026 and the current account deficit was 0.5 per cent of GDP in Q1 FY27. Sitharaman said the government had, since 2014, focused on strengthening household resilience, productive capacity, financial systems and infrastructure.

She highlighted the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity and Direct Benefit Transfer system, along with schemes such as PM Awas Yojana, Swachh Bharat, Ujjwala, Ayushman Bharat and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, for improving household security. On access to finance, she said the PM MUDRA Yojana had sanctioned more than 52 crore collateral-free loans, while PM SVANidhi supported street vendors. Non-food credit grew 18.8 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, she added.

Sitharaman also highlighted infrastructure investment, saying the government had budgeted Rs 12.22 lakh crore in capital expenditure for FY 2026-27, with effective capital expenditure at Rs 17.15 lakh crore, or 4.4 per cent of GDP.

She said sustained investment since 2014 had expanded national highways by about 61 per cent, more than doubled operational railway routes and increased cargo-handling capacity at major ports by nearly 60 per cent. Sitharaman also cited reforms including the Goods and Services Tax, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Labour Codes and Jan Vishwas measures as part of the government's efforts to strengthen the economy and improve the business environment. (IANS)

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