Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India can achieve GDP growth of more than 10% if the country sustains its reform momentum and continues encouraging innovation led by startups.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India should target GDP growth of over 10%, describing the milestone as achievable if the country maintains the pace of reforms and startup-led innovation.
Speaking at a fireside chat organised by IIT Madras in Bengaluru, Sitharaman responded to a question on how India could accelerate growth beyond its current trajectory.
The economy has grown at an average of 7.6% over the past six years despite disruptions from the pandemic and the Ukraine war, according to the report.
Sitharaman said pushing growth higher would require contributions from every sector, with government interventions serving as a catalyst for accelerating economic activity.
She highlighted the contribution of startups, saying the sector has expanded sharply since 2015 and could rival established industries in the coming years.
The Finance Minister said startups have moved from being largely focused on aggregators and service-oriented business models towards building technologies and systems for global clients.
She pointed to the ability of Indian companies to develop cost-effective and efficient technologies as another factor supporting the sector’s growth.
Sitharaman also cited areas including drone-based land mapping and precision applications as examples of technology-driven changes taking place in the country.
On artificial intelligence, she said India’s AI ecosystem may not yet be fully visible because relatively few AI companies have entered public markets. However, she said AI unicorns and several companies approaching that stage are already present in the market.
She added that rapid technological innovation in startups could contribute to the momentum required for faster economic growth.
