India Became Fifth Largest Economy In 8 Years: Nirmala Sitharaman

India continues to be the fastest-growing economy and is expanding when other economies are shrinking, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today. The country's second quarter growth, 7.6 per cent, has been then highest in the world, the minister said. India's GDP growth for the April-June quarter was 7.8 per cent.

"All developed economies are showing a contractionary manufacturing PMI, in comparison.  Everyone, US, Euro Zone, Canada, Australia, China, etc. are all in the contractionary territory, while we are moving forward," she said, responding to a debate on the state of the economy in parliament.

"The third and fourth largest economies (Japan and Germany) contracted (and emerging economies also contracted… In comparison, India's 7-plus per cent growth is significant," she said.

All sectors are growing and growing significantly, especially manufacturing, the minister said.

"Because of the Make in India programme and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's schemes, the manufacturing sector is also significantly contributing to the economy. The manufacturing sector is contributing 13.9 per cent to the economy," Ms Sitharaman said.

India is the second most sought-after manufacturing destination in the world. "Our Exports are also showing growth. In American supermarkets, Make in India products are found on the shelves," she said.

Direct tax collection has grown by 21.82 per cent this year and monthly GST collections have stabilised at Rs 1.6 lakh crore. This, she said,  is a "sign of economic growth".