India is prepared for any challenge and is confident in its capabilities despite being singled out for tariffs by US President Donald Trump, a leading minister has told The National.
Telecommunications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia made these comments when asked about the US's levies of 50 per cent – the highest imposed on any Asian country – during a visit to the UAE on Monday.
“All I can say is that India is a very, very robust economy, today the fourth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP greater than $4 trillion. We value our relationships with countries across the world including the US,” Mr Scindia said in response to a question from The National on the sidelines of a UN meeting at the Universal Postal Congress.
“We are very confident of our capability in terms of manufacturing, services and agriculture, all three engines – we are firing on all cylinders under the leadership of Prime Minster Narendra Modi.”
‘India will power ahead’
The tariffs that doubled the duty rate on Indian imports to 50 per cent took effect last month and are among the steepest charges on a US trading partner. They have been imposed because of India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
New Delhi has called the tariffs “unfair” and “unjustified”, and pointed out that the US and Europe continue to buy Russian fertilisers and chemicals. India has maintained that its oil imports are to ensure energy security for its 1.4 billion people.
Experts have said the tariffs will have an impact on export-heavy sectors, with concerns of job losses, and hurt Prime Minister Modi’s "Make in India" strategy to make goods domestically to sell to the world.
“We have great confidence in our capability to meet any challenge and we will power ahead,” Mr Scindia said. “The Prime Minister has outlined a very clear agenda of atmanirbharta (self-reliance).
"The last quarter we grew at 7.8 per cent – our GDP growth rate which is the highest in the world. Even on an annual basis we are growing upwards of six and a half per cent, which again is the highest in the world, so we are a very robust economic story … we will continue to power ahead.”
Red Sea cables
Mr Scindia, who was in the UAE for a day, was also asked about disruption to internet services after cables in the Red Sea were severed. Mr Scindia said while power cuts were experienced, services in India were getting back to normal and that repair work was on to restore communication.
“Within India our systems are up and running,” he said. “We have deployed technology in terms of ships and repair ships across all coasts – this is also service that is provided by many private sector groups. I do not believe that it is an impairment that will cause critical damage at this point of time. There has been no such incident until now.”
