New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) With US President Donald Trump terming India and Russia as “dead economies”, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday asserted in Parliament that India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and will soon become the third largest. In a suo motu statement on Trump tariffs in both houses of Parliament, he said international institutions and economists see India as the bright spot in the global economy.
India is contributing to almost 16 per cent of global growth, he said, adding that it is also widely expected that “we will become the third largest” economy in a few years.
“In just over a decade, India has rapidly transformed from being one of the Fragile 5 to the fastest-growing major economy in the world. We have risen from the 11th largest economy to one of the top 5 economies, driven by our reforms, the hard work of our farmers, MSMEs and entrepreneurs,” Goyal said.
The remarks are important as Trump has once again mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties, saying he doesn’t care what New India does with Moscow.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” Trump said, adding that “we have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world”.
Goyal further said that in the last decade, the government has taken transformative measures to promote India as the manufacturing hub of the world.
India’s young, skilled and talented workforce is driving innovation and competitiveness of the Indian industry, he said.
“Our exports have steadily increased during the last 11 years. In an increasingly protectionist world, India has done mutually beneficial trade agreements with the UAE, UK, Australia and EFTA (European Free Trade Area) countries,” Goyal said.
“We are also committed to similar trade agreements with other countries,” he added. PTI RR CS RR BAL BAL
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