Sitharaman hails India's resilience amid global uncertainties, says govt protected farmers, households

India has maintained remarkable economic resilience despite widespread global uncertainty by balancing continuous monitoring of international developments with a sharp focus on domestic priorities, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted on Sunday.

Addressing members of the Indian diaspora in Chicago, the Finance Minister emphasized that proactive policy management ensured Indian households, farmers, and the logistics sector remained insulated from severe global supply chain disruptions.

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Sitharaman observed that while geopolitical conflicts, tariff disputes, and pandemic fallout derailed the economic plans of several nations, India successfully safeguarded its citizens. She noted that India has sustained a growth rate of 7 percent or more since the COVID-19 pandemic and is projected to hold that momentum through the current fiscal year.

The government remains firmly committed to fiscal prudence, establishing a clear trajectory to lower public borrowing to 50 percent of GDP by 2030. Sitharaman contrasted this target with several advanced economies where public debt currently exceeds 200 percent of GDP. She further announced that India has successfully achieved its fiscal deficit reduction targets for the 2025–26 cycle.

She noted that improving credit ratings and positive fiscal outlooks stem directly from sound economic management rather than cuts to social welfare programs or developmental funding.

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Looking ahead to the nation’s vision of becoming a developed economy (Viksit Bharat) by 2047, Sitharaman stressed that achieving this goal within the next two decades demands rapid scaling of structural reforms. She called on the global Indian community to support this transition through capital investment, strategic ideas, and domain expertise. On international trade relations, the Finance Minister confirmed that final negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the United States are currently underway.