Chicago, Illinois, August 30 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the central government has adhered to its fiscal consolidation roadmap and successfully achieved its fiscal deficit targets for 2025-26.
India’s fiscal deficit stood at 4.4 per cent of GDP for the year ended March 31, 2026. The deficit was Rs 15.19 trillion, or 97.5 per cent of the government’s revised estimates presented in February.
Addressing the Indian diaspora in Chicago, Sitharaman responded to concerns over government borrowing and debt levels while outlining the country’s broader economic targets.
“We have given ourselves a fiscal discipline path on the fiscal deficit as well. We have fulfilled the trajectory. The last mile that had to be reached by 2025-26, we have reached,” Sitharaman said.
She noted that the government has set a target of reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 50 per cent by 2030, contrasting India’s position with several advanced economies where debt levels exceed 200 per cent of GDP.
“The trust that the world has of the fiscal prudence of Prime Minister Modi – he was so when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, he is so now, even when he is the Prime Minister of the country, the fiscal prudence shall not be compromised. As a result, credit ratings are improving,” she said.
The Minister emphasised that the fiscal consolidation was achieved without reducing funding for social welfare programmes or public capital expenditure on infrastructure.
Outlining India’s broader economic resilience, Sitharaman said domestic economic growth has remained at 7 per cent or higher since the COVID-19 pandemic, despite global headwinds including the Russia-Ukraine war, tariff disputes and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
She further noted that India did not face a fertiliser shortage because the government closely managed supplies and kept markets informed about its requirements.
“The department should be given the credit for smartly arranging fertiliser from various different routes and being able to cross the current season of crops. The forthcoming season will also require fertiliser from November. We adequately stocked for it,” she said.
The Minister highlighted that international urea prices surged tenfold from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000 per bag after the COVID-19 pandemic, but the government absorbed the entire increase by providing a subsidy of Rs 2,700 per bag.
In addition, when global insurance providers declined to cover vessels navigating volatile transit corridors, the government provided budgetary support to cover elevated risk premiums for shipping liners, ensuring that import flows remained uninterrupted.
Addressing India’s foreign trade strategy, Sitharaman said the country continues to advance bilateral trade and investment agreements with partners such as the European Union, Australia, the UAE and EFTA nations, citing the slow progress of multilateral trade frameworks.
“So trade agreements are continuing. On a bilateral basis, we are moving with trade treaties. The multilateral treaty age has gone off,” Sitharaman said.
The Finance Minister also noted her scheduled participation in G20 finance track meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, following bilateral economic dialogues held in Canada.
Sitharaman is in Chicago as part of an official nine-day visit to Canada and the US from August 25 to September 2. The US leg began on August 28. (ANI)
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