Negative or zero growth this year, India to revive growth by next year: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Though the economic growth in the current fiscal year shows a stoop down the negative line, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is hopeful for the future. She exuded confidence and said that India would emerge as one of the fastest-growing economies next year while addressing the India Energy Forum on Tuesday.

While answering a query, Ms. Sitharaman said that the contraction in the first quarter (April-June) by a huge 23.9 per cent resulted from government's conscious decision to 'put lives before livelihoods' and contain the pandemic by enforcing a 'very firm lockdown'.

''Growth will be negative or near zero this time. Next year, it will be clearly India seeing itself as one of the fastest-growing economies," Sitharaman said. She pointed out that the primary and related sectors of rural India are doing very well, which will in turn boost the domestic income.

To resurrect the economy from the receding growth rate, the FM asserted on the government's plan to concentrate on sectors that can help build assets as well as generate employment. She emphasized that the plan would concentrate primarily on basic infrastructure development and ease off and improvement in farm produce exports.

"Demand for durable goods, agriculture equipment, tractors, vehicles are all going up. Festival season has begun in India, as a result of which I expect the demand to go up and therefore, be sustainable also," she added.