New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.4 per cent in the second quarter was a ‘temporary blip’ and the economy would see healthy growth in the coming quarters. She further said that India has become the world’s fastest growing major economy as the country has seen ‘steady and sustainable’ growth. She was responding to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2024-25.
India’s GDP grew by 5.4 percent in the second quarter of the fiscal year, which was less than expected. This is a significant drop from the 6.7 percent growth reported in the first quarter. Amid uproar from opposition members in the House over the slowing economy, the finance minister in his reply highlighted the challenges faced in the second quarter but maintained a positive outlook for the coming quarter. “India’s GDP growth rate has averaged 8.3 per cent in the last three years and this (5.4 per cent) is an excellent number by global standards,” she said.
Regarding production growth, the finance minister said that there is no slowdown in the production sector on a broad basis and half of the sectors within the overall production basket are strong. Talking about inflation, Sitharaman also said that it is better controlled than during the UPA government, when it touched double digits. “Retail inflation stood at 4.8 per cent in April-October 2024-25, the lowest since the Covid pandemic,” she said, “indicating that prices remained under control despite global challenges including rising oil prices and supply disruptions. Chains.
The finance minister also spoke about the improvement in employment levels in recent years. “The unemployment rate in the country has come down. From 6 percent in 2017-18, the rate has now come down to 3.2 percent. “This is a sign of recovery and growth in the economy as more jobs are being created in various sectors,” she said.
Later, the Lok Sabha passed supplementary demands for grants, seeking approval of an additional net expenditure of Rs 44,143 crore in the current financial year, mainly due to overspending by the Ministries of Agriculture, Fertilizers and Defence. The first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2024-25 sought approval to authorize a gross additional expenditure of Rs 87,762.56 crore.
Of this, the total cash outgo is Rs 44,142.87 crore and proposals involving gross additional expenditure, savings or increased receipts/recoveries of Ministries/Departments, total Rs 43,618.43 crore. The additional expenditure includes Rs 6,593.73 crore on the Fertilizer Subsidy Scheme, Rs 9,000 crore on agriculture and farmer welfare and Rs 8,000 crore on defence.