New Delhi:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the lower than expected growth of 5.4 percent in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of the current financial year is a temporary situation. He expressed confidence that the pace of growth will increase in the coming quarters. Nirmala Sitharaman, while replying to the discussion on the first supplementary demands for grants for the year 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha, said that India has seen ‘strong and sustained’ growth. The average GDP growth rate in the last three years has been 8.3 percent.
He said, “The real growth rate in the first and second quarter of the current financial year has been 6.7 percent and 5.4 percent respectively. The rate of growth of 5.4 percent in the second quarter is lower than expected…In fact, the second quarter of the current financial year has been challenging not only for India but also for other countries.
India is the fastest growing major economy in the world
Further, he said that India remains the fastest growing major economy in the world. The credit for this goes to the people of the country who are struggling to fulfill their aspirations and are fulfilling them, thereby contributing to the economy.
He also said that there is no widespread slowdown in the manufacturing sector. Half of the manufacturing sectors remain strong. Sitharaman said, “There is no possibility of an overall slowdown in the manufacturing sector, as it is limited to a few sectors…Almost half of the 23 manufacturing sectors in the Index of Industrial Production Still remaining strong.
Apart from this, the capital expenditure of the central government has increased by 6.4 percent between July and October, 2024. The government has earmarked a capital expenditure of Rs 11.11 lakh crore for the current financial year.
Retail inflation in April-October lowest since Covid pandemic
Regarding inflation, Nirmala Sitharaman said that it has been kept under control better in the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) regime, whereas in the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government it had reached double digits. She said that in the financial year 2024 Retail inflation stood at 4.8 percent during April-October in 2025. This is the lowest since the Covid pandemic.
Unemployment rate has now come down to 3.2 percent
Sitharaman said that core inflation remains at the lowest level of the decade at 3.6 percent. Core inflation does not include fluctuating food and energy prices. He said that the unemployment rate was six percent in 2017-18, which has now come down to 3.2 percent.
Supplementary demands for grants passed by voice vote in Lok Sabha
After the Finance Minister’s reply, the Lok Sabha passed the supplementary demands for grants by voice vote. Under the first supplementary demand for grants for the financial year 2024-25, approval has been sought for gross additional expenditure of Rs 87,762.56 crore. Out of this, net cash Expenditure proposals total Rs 44,142.87 crore and gross additional expenditure totals Rs 43,618.43 crore The additional expenditure includes Rs 6,593.73 crore for the fertilizer subsidy scheme, about Rs 9,000 crore for agriculture and farmer welfare and Rs 8,000 crore for defense expenditure. This includes Rs 3,000 crore for the Ministry of External Affairs and Rs 3,000 crore for the Ministry of Home Affairs. This includes Rs 4,800 crore.
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