The remarks came as the finance minister replied to the debate on price rise in Lok Sabha. The issue will be discussed in Rajya Sabha tomorrow.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said there was zero possibility of India slipping into stagflation or recession, adding that it continues to be the world's fastest growing economy.
Replying to the debate on the issue of price rise in Lok Sabha amid a walkout by Congress MPs, Sitharaman said: “Replying to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s query, I would like to say there is no question of India getting into stagflation or, what it is called in USA, technical recession. There is absolutely zero probablity of India slipping into recession.”
The finance minister said that that prices of edible had been corrected sharply following the steps taken by government.
She said that despite the COVID blow on the economy, Nirmala Sitharaman said that "we have maintained inflation rate at 7 per cent or below", adding that Indian economy has recovered admirably.
"Pandemic, second wave, Omicron, Russia-Ukraine (war), even today largest supply components in China are under lockdown...in spite of that, we have held inflation well within 7% or below. That has to be recognised," theFM said.
Sitharaman said that nearly 30 opposition MPs spoke on the issue of price rise in the House, out of which “most raised political angles rather than data-driven concerns”. "So, I too will try to reply a little politically," SItharaman added.
She also said that India remains the fastest growing economy in the world in assessment of global agencies. "I fully credit the people of India ... even against adversity we are able to stand up and be recognised as the fastest growing economy," the Finance Minister said.
Sitharaman said the world had never seen such a pandemic. “We’ve never seen a pandemic of this kind… all of us were trying to make sure that people in our constituencies are given extra help. I recognise that everybody — MPs and state governments — has played a role. Otherwise, India wouldn’t be where it is compared to rest of the world,” she added.
said the GST collection and Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) are indicating that the Indian economy is getting more robust.
The GST collection rose 28 per cent to touch the second-highest level of Rs 1.49 lakh crore in July. GST, introduced in July 2017, touched a record high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April 2022.
This is the sixth time that the monthly GST collection crossed the Rs 1.40-lakh-crore mark since the inception of Goods and Services Tax and the fifth month at a stretch since March 2022, she said.
She also said that the banking sector in the country is also healthy compared to other countries.
Gross NPAs of scheduled commercial banks have reached a six-year low of 5.9 per cent, she said, adding that government debt to GDP ratio has come down to 56.29 per cent in FY22.
As the Lok Sabha took up the discussion on price rise on Monday, a number of opposition leaders like Congress’ Manish Tewari, TMC’s Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and DMK’s Kanimozhi hit out at the government over fuel and food inflation and GST implementation.
The notice for discussion on the issue was given by Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut and Congress MP Manish Tewari in the Lower House (Lok Sabha). The notice in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) was served by NCP MP Fauzia Khan.
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 "Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha - ANI")
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