Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the global economic environment may present challenges but India is well positioned to capitalise on new growth opportunities. She underlined that as nations re-evaluate their supply chains, India hopes to become a key partner for many countries seeking to diversify their sources of goods and services.

The minister was delivering a special lecture on India’s Economic Resilience and Prospects Amidst A Challenging and Uncertain Global Environment’ at Columbia University, and said that India is looking towards boosting domestic capacities, and building resilience against external shocks.

Advertisement

She said while the past decades saw global growth led by broad multilateral trade, the coming years, I think, will likely be defined by strategic economic partnerships and India is very well poised to take advantage of this transition. She said that the global economic environment may present challenges, but India is well positioned to capitalise on new growth opportunities.

While delivering the lecture, Sitharaman said the shift towards a more fragmented global economy, characterised by redefined alliances and changing trade patterns, could in fact work to India’s advantage. As nations re-evaluate their supply chains, India hopes to become a key partner for many countries seeking to diversify their sources of goods and services, she said at the lecture.

The minister also noted that it may be an understatement that we are living through times of profound uncertainty, which is steadily rising before us.“The world today grapples with multiple challenges, such as the conflict in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine. There’s also a possibility of other destabilising events such as the dollar liquidity shocks, increases in global tariffs due to trade wars and oil price shocks – all at the same time,” she said.