Taking the battle to US President Donald Trump on the tariff issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent in the first quarter despite “challenges from economic selfishness.” This veiled jibe was also in reference to Trump’s ‘dead economy’ remark about India.
Making this assertion, Modi also said the country’s economic performance came amidst global uncertainties and “aarthik swarth se paida hue chunautiya hai” (challenges stemming from economic self-interest). “Once again, India has outperformed every expectation, every estimate, and every forecast,” he said.
Modi’s barb came a day after he returned to Delhi following the China visit, where he, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping, exhibited camaraderie in what appeared to be a united front against Trump.
Addressing the Semicon India 2025 conference, the Prime Minister said GDP growth in April-June was better than ‘every expectation, hope and estimate’.
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.
Modi emphasised that this growth is visible across all sectors — manufacturing, services, agriculture, and construction — with enthusiasm evident everywhere, and added that India’s rapid growth is infusing new energy across industries and among every citizen.
He affirmed that this trajectory of growth is propelling India swiftly towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world.
“Just a few days ago, the GDP numbers for the first quarter of this year came out. Once again, India has performed better than every expectation, every assessment. At a time when there are concerns about the economy of the world, there are challenges created by economic selfishness; in that environment, India has achieved a growth of 7.8 per cent,” he added, highlighting that the said growth was observed in every sector.
The Prime Minister did not elaborate on the challenges, but his statement came days after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods over the country’s purchases of Russian oil. This increased total tariffs to 50 per cent — the highest in the world. In the run-up to the imposition of the tariff, Trump had dismissed India’s economy as “dead”.
India in the first quarter as well as the 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal) and the year's proceedings, has remained the world’s fastest-growing major economy, outshining China by yards. The US economy grew at 3.3 per cent in April-June.
US officials have in recent days used unduly harsh words to criticise India over the continued purchase of Russian oil.
Modi said his Government will unleash a new phase of next-generation reforms soon. “In the coming times, we are going to begin a new phase of next-generation reforms,” he said.
While he did not spell out the reforms planned, Modi may have hinted at the planned biggest reform of the goods and services tax (GST), with tax cuts on a wide range of common-use products — from shampoos and hybrid cars to consumer electronics.
The GST Council, the all-powerful decision-making body, is meeting in New Delhi for two days beginning September 3 to discuss the proposed pruning of rates.
Since January, Trump has launched a broad global tariff programme, slapping higher rates on imports from countries with which his administration had political grievances. Besides India, only Brazil has been slapped with a 50 per cent tariff.
Trump argues that the tariffs boost American manufacturing and protect jobs, but his trade policies have led to economic chaos worldwide.
Presented with Vikram-32, India’s first indigenously built processor chip - making a milestone in the country’s semiconductor self-reliance journey. The Prime Minister had, in his Independence Day speech, said that the ‘Made-in-India’ semiconductor chip would arrive by the year-end.