New Delhi: The Indian economy will stay on course and is projected to grow at 7 per cent in the financial year 2022-23, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
‘Despite global headwinds, the Indian economy will stay on course and is projected to grow at 7 per cent in FY 2022-23. This is an outcome of the conducive domestic policy environment and government’s focus on key structural reforms to boost growth,’ she said at the Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) at the International Monetary Fund Headquarters during the Annual Meetings 2022 in Washington DC.
The Finance Minister emphasised the initiatives by the Narendra Modi government taken to protect growth while pursuing inflation management.
“We have ensured the availability of free food grains to more than 800 million vulnerable families for the past 25 months, through the country’s massive public distribution network,” she said.
Sitharaman said last mile delivery of financial services to the poor has been a key priority of the government and this has been aided by India’s digital public good infrastructure.
Today, India is leading the world in terms of digital payments innovations with our transaction cost being the lowest in the world, she added.
“I believe the IMF needs to increase resources available for emerging and low-income countries to safeguard the global financial system. Therefore, concluding the 16th GRQ by December 15th, 2023 is vital for increasing the voting rights of emerging market economies (EMES) in line with their relative positions in the world economy,” Sitharaman said.
The Minister said a key downside risk to global recovery is the exacerbated debt distress in many low-income countries and, therefore, it is important that the Fund provides them necessary support to deal with balance of payments related vulnerabilities.
In this context, Sitharaman welcomed the Fund’s recent initiative of a new food shock window to help countries address food insecurity’.
On climate change, the Finance Minister emphasised the importance of the multilateral approach with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
She said India has set out an ambitious climate action path through our updated Nationally Determined Contributions which demonstrate India’s commitment at the highest level for decoupling of economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions.
She underlined that Transfer of climate finance and low-cost climate technologies from developed to the developing countries has assumed critical significance.
