Chicago: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday that India is likely to sustain an economic growth rate of 7 per cent or more in the financial year 2026-27, continuing the momentum recorded in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Addressing the Indian diaspora in Chicago during her US visit, she said that India was likely to maintain its growth momentum despite geopolitical uncertainties and supply-chain disruptions following the US-Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Continuously keeping in touch with global uncertainties as much as understanding India’s own requirements have kept us floating. Whereas many countries are completely disturbed, their calculations have gone haywire,” the Finance Minister observed.
She said that the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle East conflict initially affected supplies of key commodities such as crude, petroleum products and fertilisers to India, but the country managed to reroute supplies.
The Finance Minister highlighted that the government has also kept fertiliser prices unchanged for farmers through subsidies despite a sharp rise in international prices.
“The forthcoming season will also require fertilisers from November. We are adequately stocked,” she added.
FM Sitharaman further stated that the government would continue with systemic reforms and seek to mobilise more capital, particularly from overseas, as India’s economy expands. While private investment has picked up domestically following the government’s push on capital expenditure, India also needs to attract international investment to meet its growing capital requirements.
“Because of the ambitions that we have, we need capital. Therefore, on my trip to Canada and the US, and other ministers as well as the Prime Minister himself, all of us are talking to global funds,” she said.
“Showcasing what India has already achieved and hearing their expectations so that we can go back and provide clarity is part of the effort,” she added.
“We are also talking with several countries for the bilateral investment treaty along with a bilateral trade agreement,” Sitharaman pointed out.
Last week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also visited Japan, where he pushed to mobilise investments worth $60 billion by 2035.
(IANS)
