Day After India's Sinking GDP Growth Rate, Nirmala Sitharaman Keeps Alive Hope of $5 Trillion Economy

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing economic slowdown, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Modi government’s initiative to reduce corporate tax rate is a historic move.

“To spur investment and industrial growth for fulfilling the target of 5 trillion dollar economy, the Modi government reduced Corporate Tax rates to among the lowest in the world in a historic move. #6MonthsOfIndiaFirst (sic),” Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.

In a series of tweets on PM Modi’s completion of six months in office for the second term, Sitharaman lauded the PM's initiatives for economy.

Her tweets come a day after India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the second quarter of the ongoing financial year fell to six-year low of 4.5%.

Ahead of the release of the numbers, government data released showed that the output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted by 5.8% in October, indicating the severity of the economic slowdown.

Earlier this week, Sitharaman, during a discussion on economic situation in the Rajya Sabha, said even though economic growth may have slowed but there is no recession.

Soon after the GDP numbers showed a dip in trend, opposition leaders slammed the BJP government over the state of economy. Leading the attack was former prime minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh. He said the current state of the Indian economy was “unacceptable”.

Terming the decline from 5% to 4.5% as worrisome, Singh said, “The sharp decline of GDP from 5% in Q1 to 4.5% in Q2 is worrisome. Mere changes in economic policies will not help revive the economy.”

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the country's economy has collapsed and trade an employment have also taken a hit.

Congress' Jaiveer Shergill also trained guns at the BJP government and called for Finance Minister's resignation . "Where there is a Will, there is a way. The BJP neither has the Will nor knows the Way to much needed economic reforms. The first step should be resignation of the finance minister and then she should do financial internship under Dr Manmohan Singh to learn the skill of Financial Management," he was quoted as saying by the ANI.