Trade deal ends atmosphere of uncertainty, says top FinMin officials
The announcement of the Indo-US bilateral trade pact has ended the atmosphere of uncertainty and will have positive implications for the Indian economy amid global problems, top finance ministry officials said on Tuesday.
India and the US have agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent. The breakthrough follows a high-level telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.
“Today Indian Economy continues to demonstrate strong macroeconomic resilience. Despite a global environment which has uncertainties, a great deal of uncertainty dropped today morning...,” Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said in her address to the industry chamber FICCI here. She further said India stands out as a macroeconomically strong country in the world today.
The Government is further awaiting the details of the trade deal to gauge if India’s economic growth will exceed the estimate of 6.8-7.2 per cent in 2026-27,
she said. The Government prepared its Budget for the next financial year based on the then India-US dynamic that entailed steep tariffs, Thakur said, adding that her ministry is confident of transparently achieving all fiscal commitments laid out in the Budget. There is also a possibility that India’s strong economic momentum may help the Government exceed its projections for receipts as well as divestment in FY27, she added.
Speaking at the event, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said, “Today is a good day. One of the dark clouds of uncertainty from the world economy has been lifted, with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump reaching a trade deal.”
He expressed confidence in India’s economic momentum, but added that the banking sector’s credit growth is not yet enough to meet the Viksit Bharat vision of 2047.
The high-level expert committee for the banking sector, proposed in the Budget, will take into account the issue and recommend measures to improve the banking sector and improve credit growth, Nagaraju said.The Government will soon set up the panel and detail its terms of reference, he added.
