India’s ‘dead economy’ growth hailed, but Trump’s tariffs pose risks
While the 7.8 per cent first-quarter growth is a positive sign, experts warn the impact of US tariffs could be felt later in the year
Trump, whose administration once touted India as a key strategic partner, had offered an early signal of his new posture in July when he posted on Truth Social: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”
India’s media wasted no time turning the GDP figures into a political counterpunch. The Economic Times ran the headline “India’s dead economy delivers GDP shock to Trump”, while business news outlet MoneyControl declared: “India answers Trump’s dead economy jibe with 7.8 per cent GDP growth”.
Political and industry leaders too cheered the growth number.
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the GDP data showed that India was on a path to becoming developed and self-reliant, while Jyoti Vij, director general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, noted that “the strong growth has come at a juncture when the country is facing significant global headwinds and will help boost business sentiments.”
Experts said the latest economic reading was a positive sign, but warned that there would be an impact on the nation’s growth through the entire financial year as the US import tariffs would take time to unfold on Indian exports.