Taming Inflation Top Priority, Says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that there should be a priority on private investment, performance of the Indian economy at global level and curbing inflation as well.

Ensuring sustained economic growth in India, she also said that taming inflation is the Centre’s ‘priority’. She was speaking at the 3-day B20 Summit India 2023, hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which began in the national capital on August 25 ahead of G20.

The theme for the B20 summit is ‘responsible, accelerated, innovative, sustainable, equitable’ (R.A.I.S.E) businesses. R.A.I.S.E is rooted in the belief that the G20 business community should raise the bar for equitable growth by committing to business practices that are responsible and rooted in sustainable practices.

Addressing the summit, the finance minister said that the gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the first quarter this financial year should be good. “The GDP numbers for Q1 FY23-24 is due this month and will come soon. We are the fastest-growing economy and our domestic investment is robust. Nobody has a clue, but everybody feels the Q1 numbers went well, so everything should be good,” Sitharaman said.

On the retail inflation front, she said that the government’s priority is to tame inflation to ensure sustained economic growth. The retail inflation soared to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, mainly on account of spiralling prices of tomatoes and vegetables. Observing that elevated interest rates for considerable time hampers recovery, Sitharaman said, “my priority is to tame inflation.”

Sharing her insight, she also highlighted how the central government has been consistently carrying out reforms for the past nine years with stable results, while reforms earlier were erratic. “The government did not stop carrying out reforms even during the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said in her address.

On capex, Sitharaman said that ‘green shoots’ of private capital expenditure (capex) can be felt on the back of the government’s push for capital expenditure in the budget. "The climate financing and reforms being undertaken by the government will attract foreign investments, as they are vital for economic growth,” the finance minister said.

Recalling the massive global disruption by the Covid pandemic, Sitharaman said that focusing on investment in health and education are India’s priorities as well. “This should be the priority, globally. Health systems are collapsing even in developed countries. If money is not invested, we’ll be in a health crisis,” She said.