Union Minister of Interior and Cooperation Amit Shah said on Friday that India is likely to become the fastest growing economy in the world in the current fiscal year.

“We are reaching the pre-COVID levels. The GDP figure from July to September was 8.4 percent and I think India is likely to become the fastest growing economy in the world in 2021-22. I wouldn’t be surprised if we can achieve double-digit growth, “said Shah speaking at the FICCI Annual Meeting and the 94th Annual General Meeting.

Shah said that out of the 22 parameters of the economy, India exceeded 19 parameters and this shows that the country has emerged strongly from the crisis. “Both the manufacturing and service sectors have reached pre-COVID levels. With the announcement of various packages and reliefs, our inflation is within the government’s target range of 4-6 percent, ”he added.

Shah highlighted the potential of the MSME sector and said that “we are promoting and strengthening this sector so far, we cannot address the problem of unemployment in the county”. He also stressed the need to invest more in the R&D sector.

The Interior Minister noted that the FICCI Annual General Meeting is held at an important time as the world is slowly emerging from COVID on the one hand, and India is celebrating Azadi ka Amrti Mahostav on the other. It is time for FICCI to step forward and expand its role in India’s growth while opening up new opportunities, he noted.

He also stressed that for the next 25 years, when India celebrates 100 years of independence, FICCI needs to identify a roadmap of potential sectors, work together and develop a roadmap. Atmanirbhar Bharat’s vision can be achieved if organizations like FICCI come up and work with the government on various guidelines and a roadmap to stimulate India’s economy over the next 25 years, he added.

Uday Shankar, President of FICCI, said the government’s comprehensive development initiatives are transforming India and each step brings us closer to AtmaNirbhar Bharat. “Leveraging technology to increase transparency, improve competitiveness and improve efficiency has been the hallmark of several reforms we have seen over the past seven years,” he added.

Sanjiv Mehta, President-elect of FICCI, said this epidemic had accelerated the country’s digital journey and provided a much-needed boost. “We should protect privacy, but we should share data as a national good,” he added.