PM Modi Hails 7.8 Per Cent GDP Growth Amid US Tariffs, Indirectly Targets Trump For 'Economic Self-Interest'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (2 September) highlighted India’s economic momentum, saying the country recorded 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of FY2025–26, surpassing expectations despite global headwinds and tariff pressures from the US, NDTV reported.

Speaking at the Semicon India Conference in Delhi, a day after returning from visits to China and Japan, Modi said India’s economy had “outperformed every expectation, estimate and forecast.”

He noted that the growth, up from 6.5 per cent in the same quarter last year, was the fastest in five quarters, with all sectors, manufacturing, services, agriculture, and construction, showing strong performance.

“While economies around the world are facing challenges driven by economic self-interest, India has achieved a growth rate of 7.8 per cent,” he said, in what was seen as a veiled reference to US President Donald Trump’s tariff measures.

The upbeat remarks come amid escalating trade tensions. Trump last month imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, along with an additional 25 per cent penalty for New Delhi’s continued oil imports from Russia.

He accused India of benefiting from a “one-sided relationship,” claiming US businesses faced prohibitive Indian tariffs while India sold “massive amounts of goods” to the US.

Trump also alleged that India purchases “most of its oil and military products” from Russia, while sourcing “very little” from the US. He later said India had offered to cut tariffs “to nothing,” but argued the move had come “too late.”

India, in response, has called the US tariffs “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” stressing that its energy imports are driven by market realities and the need to secure fuel for its 1.4 billion citizens.

The Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi would take “all necessary actions” to safeguard its national interest.

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