Sitharaman says Indian economy to grow at 7.4 per cent

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that India's gross domestic product (GDP) would grow at 7.4% in the current fiscal (financial year 2022-23) and continue at the same level in the next fiscal as well. Addressing a functon in Mumbai, she said that IMF and the World Bank have both forecast that India's growth rate would be the fastest for the next two fiscal years, and their estimates are in sync with those of the Reserve Bank of India as well,” she added. 

Sitharaman also warned against throwing caution to the winds, saying that this was because of the current global scenario, which, she said, ‘continues to be challenging’. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member further projected difficulties for the export sector with the slowing down of the global growth, saying that the central government would work with such entities to ‘face the headwinds’.The minister, however, expressed her concerns about the export sector, saying it may face difficulties due to the slowdown in economies across the world. She also stressed the need for rigorous debate on the freebies side, adding that political parties making promises before elections must make budgetary provisions to take care of the expenditures and avoid pushing the burden on other entities.