10-plus percent economic growth possible, says Sitharaman
Bengaluru, Sept 26 (UNI) India can achieve more than 10 per cent economic growth, but getting there will require greater efforts across sectors, with startups, technology, innovation and agriculture playing a key role in driving the next phase of expansion, union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Saturday.
"It is possible to reach 10 plus growth," Sitharaman said, while addressing the IIT Madras Alumni Association's Sangam 2026. She said achieving higher growth would also accelerate India's journey towards Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat, but cautioned that it would require greater efforts from all stakeholders. Sitharaman said India had significant scope to raise growth by continuously opening new avenues for talent and technology and applying innovations to persistent economic challenges.
She pointed to the rapid expansion of India's startup ecosystem, saying startups could make a much larger contribution to the economy in the coming years. Technology-led interventions in agriculture could also make a "spectacular difference" by improving productivity, connecting farmers with markets and speeding up various stages of agricultural operations, she said. Drones and geospatial technology were already transforming areas such as land mapping, while technology could also help address underemployment in agriculture by improving productivity and training workers to use new tools, the Finance Minister said.
Sitharaman said India's economic transformation over the past decade was the outcome of deliberate policy interventions rather than an automatic process. Recalling India's position among the "Fragile Five", she said the government had to first identify sectors that required immediate attention, restore confidence in institutions and then open up sectors for greater private participation. Banking sector reforms and the infusion of resources to strengthen banks were among the measures undertaken to restore institutional confidence, she said. "We had to re-instill confidence in institutions and also support them somewhat with resources," Sitharaman said, referring to the steps taken to strengthen the banking system.
She also highlighted the government's policy of opening up sectors earlier restricted to private participation, citing the space sector as a major example. The opening up of the space sector had resulted in a proliferation of startups developing satellites and other technologies, she said, adding that Indian capabilities were increasingly receiving global recognition. Sitharaman also pointed to renewable energy, nuclear technology, artificial intelligence and other emerging sectors as areas that could contribute to India's next phase of economic expansion.
On AI, she said India's progress should not be judged merely by the number of companies listed on stock exchanges, arguing that several startups and unicorns were already active in the sector. She, however, suggested that successful AI companies should also consider listing as they grow, saying a larger presence of such companies in the stock market could help provide greater visibility to India's technology ecosystem.
The Finance Minister said stakeholder consultation had also become an important part of policymaking, with the government seeking inputs from industry and other stakeholders rather than framing solutions in isolation. "Effort is required, effort was put in, effort is continuing to be put," Sitharaman said, stressing that India's growth efforts were spread across different sectors and involved multiple participants in the economy.
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