New Delhi, 29 January – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday highlighted India’s robust economic performance amid global uncertainties, describing the country as a “global bright spot” steadily progressing with stability.
In a social media post on platform X regarding the Economic Survey, the Finance Minister stated, “Despite global uncertainties, the Indian economy has maintained strong momentum. According to the first advance estimates, the real GDP growth rate for the financial year 2025-26 is projected at 7.4 percent. This marks the fourth consecutive year India stands as the fastest-growing major economy.”
Ms. Sitharaman further noted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India’s broad economic base is stronger than ever. “We have successfully navigated global challenges to place India on a high growth trajectory, achieving GDP growth rates of up to 7 percent,” she added.
The Finance Minister emphasized that the government is rapidly advancing on the path of fiscal consolidation without compromising on growth. The fiscal deficit target for 2025-26 is set at 4.4 percent.
Capital expenditure has seen a significant rise of nearly 89 percent since the financial year 2022, reaching ₹11.21 lakh crore in the 2026 budget. Effective capital expenditure as a percentage of GDP has increased from a pre-pandemic average of 2.7 percent to 3.9 percent post-pandemic. This investment aims to build assets that underpin an ambitious economy’s financial strength.
Regarding infrastructure, the national highway network has expanded by approximately 60 percent, growing from 91,287 kilometres in 2014 to 1.46 lakh kilometres by 2026. This expansion has substantially reduced transportation bottlenecks.
On the banking sector front, the Finance Minister shared that the Scheduled Commercial Banks’ Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio has fallen to a multi-decade low of 2.2 percent as of September 2025. Additionally, post-tax profits rose by 16.9 percent in the financial year 2024-25.
Ms. Sitharaman also mentioned that the Economic Survey highlights India’s transition from ‘Atmanirbhar’ (self-reliance) to ‘strategic strength’ and now to ‘strategic indispensability.’ This evolution aims to shift global buying behaviour from “considering Indian products” to “unquestioningly buying Indian products.” The government is focusing on easing regulations and strengthening the manufacturing sector to support this goal.
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