Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended India’s economic performance on Monday, citing strong GST collections and other domestic indicators to argue that the country remains resilient despite global headwinds. She said there is a section of Indians that quickly “decry the achievements of our own people,” and warned against what she called a pessimistic narrative.
Speaking at the 37th SIDBI Foundation Day programme, Sitharaman said the domestic economy “remains positive and resilient even today,” pointing to GST collections, tractor sales, vehicle sales and life insurance premiums as evidence. She said gross GST collections crossed 22 lakh crore rupees for 2025-26 and rose 8.3%.
She also framed the government’s recent economic messaging around the “three Fs” fuel, fertiliser and foreign exchange saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to conserve foreign exchange reflected volatile crude oil prices linked to the West Asia crisis. Sitharaman said high international crude, fertiliser and gold prices were creating challenges on the external front.
The minister said the government had already cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by 10 rupees per litre, a move she said would cost the exchequer more than 1 lakh crore rupees in revenue. She also referred to the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0, which targets additional credit of 2.55 lakh crore rupees, including support for MSMEs, as part of the response to stress linked to the conflict.
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