Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday noted that India's GDP grew by 7.8 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, notwithstanding what he characterized as "self-interest driven challenges," apparently referring to the US President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on Indian products.
Addressing the Semicon India Conference in Delhi, a day after he wound up his China and Japan visits, PM Modi said that the Indian economy has "outperformed every expectation, estimate and forecast."
"While economies around the world are facing concerns and challenges driven by economic self-interest, India has achieved a growth rate of 7.8 per cent," he said in Hindi.
This rate of growth surpassed expectations of 6.5 per cent and is 1.3 percentage points above the corresponding period last year.
For perspective, the GDP had grown 6.5% during the April-June quarter of last fiscal year. The 2025-26 first-quarter growth is the highest growth in five quarters following the highest growth of 8.4% in the January-March quarter of 2024.
"This growth is visible across all sectors -- manufacturing, services, agriculture, and construction -- with enthusiasm evident everywhere," PM Modi said.
He underlined that this pace of growth is pushing India toward becoming the world's third-largest economy, which was contrary to Mr. Trump's previous characterization of India as a "dead economy."
"The day is not far when the world will say: Designed in India, Made in India, Trusted by the World," he said.
Donald Trump last month imposed a 25 per cent tit-for-tat tariff on India and an additional 25 per cent penalty for the importation of Russian oil. President Mr. Trump since his return to office in January accused India of facilitating Moscow's aggression against Ukraine by buying Russian oil.
On Monday, Trump said that India has proposed removing all tariffs on US products but was critical of the move that "should have [been] done years ago."
"What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest "client," but we sell them very little - Until now a totally one-sided relationship, and it has been for many decades," he posted on his Truth Social platform.
"The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one-sided disaster," he said.
Following PM Modi’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump claimed that India purchases "most of its oil and military products" from Russia and "very little" from the US.
"They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder," he said.
"They have now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago," he posted on Truth Social, adding that the relationship between the two countries has been a "one-sided disaster".
India has labeled US tariffs as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable."
"The United States has in recent days targeted India's oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement last month.
The statement also accused the US of slapping extra tariffs on India for behavior "several other countries are taking in their own national interest," terming it "extremely unfortunate."
"India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests," it added.
Read also| 'It's Getting Late': Trump Claims India Has 'Offered To Cut Tariffs To Nothing'
