India not getting into recession or stagflation: Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament
Premium- Speaking on a price rise debate in Lok Sabha, Nirmala Sitharaman said India does not face any risk or recession or stagflation
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha on Monday that India is not facing any risk of either recession or stagflation. Nirmala Sitharaman said that India’s macroeconomic fundamentals are "perfect" and hence, the country is not getting into a recession or stagflation. Nirmala Sitharaman was responding to a debate on the issue of price rise in the country due to which, the lower House of Parliament has witnessed disruptions from the Opposition parties; some even resulting in the suspension of the MPs.
Replying to the question of price rise for nearly two hours, Nirmala Sitharaman said India continues to be a fast-growing economy in the world quoting reports of global agencies. Nirmala Sitharaman said India is doing better than its peers. She said, "there is no question of India getting into recession or stagflation ... there is no question of us getting into stagflation or like the US a technical recession."
Nirmala Sitharaman was referring to the 0.9 per cent fall in the GDP of the United States in the second quarter, following a 1.6 per cent decline in the first quarter, marking the start of what they call an unofficial recession.
Not satisfied with Nirmala Sitharaman’s reply to the debate on the price rise of commodities, the Opposition staged a walkout.
"A Bloomberg survey which was done by economists says there is zero probability of India slipping into recession, so it is not just me saying. There is zero probability of India slipping into recession even though there are several major economies who are in a substantial risky position of getting into recession," Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Nirmala Sitharaman said India’s debt-to-GDP ratio is better than many developed nations, including Japan. Justifying her point, Nirmala Sitharaman also said the GST collection has touched the second-highest since its rollout in July – it rose 28 per cent to touch the second-highest level of ₹1.49 lakh crore in July.
Sitharaman also acknowledged that the country faces inflationary pressure. She said the government has been able to contain it below 7 per cent despite problems like Covid-19 and Omicron. Efforts are being made to bring down retail inflation below 7 per cent, she said.
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