Finance Minister insists for quality-based gwoth as next phase of growth

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India’s subsequent growth trajectory must be predicated on quality. Mrs. Sitharaman indicated that every factory floor, boardroom, service centre, and Research and Development team should pursue elevated benchmarks, diminished defects, and enhanced reliability. She emphasized that management professionals and corporate leaders should cultivate a quality-centric ethos as a collective practice, integrated within products, processes, services, and institutions.

Ms. Sitharaman underscored that the world economy is navigating a period of heightened uncertainty, accompanied by a concurrent realignment of global trade and supply chains. The Finance Minister observed that resilience should not manifest as a retreat into economic isolationism within this context. She emphasized that resilience for India necessitates robust domestic capabilities, fiscal strength, and industrial scale, enabling the absorption of global shocks without impeding national development. She further stated that while global economic growth is decelerating to below three percent, the Indian economy maintains an expansion rate nearing eight percent. The most recent quarter exhibited stronger growth relative to prevailing forecasts.

Ms. Sitharaman indicated that this macroeconomic stability is catalyzing a reassessment of India’s standing on the global stage. She highlighted that on 2nd September 2026, the Japan Credit Rating Agency enhanced India’s long-term foreign currency and local currency issuer ratings from BBB-plus to A-minus, accompanied by a stable outlook, and increased the country ceiling to A.