GDP Slowdown in Q2 Not Systemic: Nirmala Sitharaman
Deccan ChronicleNew Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the gross domestic product or GDP slowdown in the September quarter was not ‘systemic’ and the economic activity in the third quarter, with better public expenditure, is likely to compensate for the moderation. The minister’s statement comes after the Reserve Bank of India sharply slashed its growth projection to 6.6 per cent for the current fiscal from 7.2 per cent earlier. “Other factors affecting growth include plateauing global demand that affected export growth,” Sitharaman said, adding that purchasing power of Indians is improving, but within India, you also have concerns of wages saturating. The finance ministry, in its Economic Survey for FY24, had estimated a GDP growth of 6.5-7 per cent for the current fiscal year.