Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Indian economy has undergone profound positive transformation in the past decade. In her pre-election budget, Sitharaman said the people of India are looking to the future with hope and choice. Technically, the budget is an accounting vote and is often referred to as an interim budget. She further said that the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has covered all aspects of inclusion.

The Finance Minister said that structural reforms, people-friendly schemes and employment opportunities have helped the economy gain new dynamism. The economy grew by 9.1% in 2021-22 after contracting by 5.8% in 2020-21.

The Indian Finance Ministry stated in its latest monthly economic review that the Indian economy will become the world’s third largest economy in the next three years, with GDP increasing from the current 3.7 trillion to 5 trillion. It also said that India is expected to become a $7 trillion economy in the next six to seven years (by 2030). In December, the Reserve Bank of India raised its GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 7% from the previous 6.5% due to strong domestic demand and improved manufacturing capacity utilization. The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects India’s economic growth to remain strong at 6.5% in 2023-24 and 2024-25, raising its forecasts by 0.2 percentage points in both years from its previous forecast.

The World Bank predicts India’s growth rate this fiscal year will be 6.4%, and GDP growth will rise slightly to 6.5% in 2024-25. The Asian Development Bank, another leading multilateral agency, revised India’s growth outlook for 2023-24 to 6.7% from 6.3% after the economy grew faster than expected in July-September, driven by double-digit growth in industry.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)