India is in the sweet spot as far as US business is concerned, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister claimed recently, adding that the US is "gung ho" about India because of the country’s "political stability, emerging power in tech and design, and vast consumer market place". The minister also pointed out to some core strengths of the Indian economy, including a consumerist culture, labour prowess and flourishing entrepreneurship, among others.

Recently, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, overtaking the United Kingdom, and the global media seems no less enthusiastic about our rising economy. In a recent article, The Guardian points out to some of the strengths of the Indian economy as "economic liberalisation in the private sector, a rapidly growing working population, and the realignment of global supply chains away from China". It also mentions about our world-class IT and pharmaceutical sector.

Similarly, another recent article published in The New York Times heaps praise on India’s policies including increased public investment, debt related reliefs and credit guarantees to the SME sector. It also praises RBI’s monetary policy interventions that have helped control inflation. Like Goyal, according to whom India's Covid management was seen as a big plus at the WTO round, the article also states that the huge Covid vaccination has helped India to become a bright spot globally.

All these sound encouraging, but complacency is not welcome. Our economy is now amongst the fastest growing economy in the world, but we still have a lot to do to push our per capita income. Also, the manufacturing sector needs a constant push. Employment generation is a must to make the best of our growing working population. In addition, we urgently need to increase our exports and tighten the noose over our widening trade deficit.

I invite your opinions.