India can sustain Q1 growth pace despite global headwinds, says Nirmala Sitharaman

The latest market report highlights that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 22 stated India can sustain the 7.8 percent expansion recorded in the first quarter of FY27, despite global uncertainties, and stated global market participants stay confident around the country's economic prospects.

India's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.8 percent in the April-June quarter of FY27, above the Reserve Bank of India's estimates, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

“I think the quarter 1 revealed the way, and I'm very confident we'll continue in that pace this year, despite all the odds,” Sitharaman stated at the BusinessLine Changemaker Awards on September 22.

She stated the government had made provisions in the Budget to deal with unpredictable developments, which she noted were becoming more frequent.

“Even at the stage of presenting the budget, we have made the provision required for any unpredictable, unforeseen, but of course, unforeseen are becoming more now,” Sitharaman stated.

“But I think I am confident that the budget, as presented on first February, will take us through this year with a comparable kind of expansion, as we saw during the first quarter,” she further noted.

Sitharaman’s remarks come after her meeting with JPMorgan Chase Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon in Mumbai. Dimon had stated global market participants stay optimistic around investing in India, but certain tax uncertainties stay a concern. The finance minister acknowledged that market participants had pointed to areas where India needs to undertake further reforms which will be taken into consideration by the government.

Sitharaman stated she had met global pension funds, sovereign funds and private equity market participants, and that they remained confident around India.

“There are of course points on which India needs to do more reform. We'll take all that on board. The debate is not by month on month FDI country which has its macroeconomic stability, a country which still values fiscal prudence, a country which largely has managed its inflation, a country where there is domestic demand. These are factors which are in the minds of big market participants,” she stated.