Slowdown, yes; recession, no, says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Indian economy may have slowed down but there is no threat of a recession. 

Replying to a discussion on the economic situation in the country in the Rajya Sabha, she reeled out a numbers comparison between five years under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance-II regime from 2009 to 2014 and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first term from 2014 to 2019 to say inflation was lower and growth higher under the Modi government. 

FDI inflows in 2009-14 were USD 189.5 billion and the same were USD 283.9 billion under BJP rule in the following five years, she said, adding that foreign exchange reserves rose to USD 412.6 billion under BJP from USD 304.2 billion in UPA-II. 

"Economic growth may have slowed but there is no recession, there can be no recession," she said.