Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the reforms momentum will continue, which will spur growth and ensure macro-economic stability, presenting an “optimistic economic outlook” for the coming years.Assuming charge of the ministries of finance and corporate affairs for a second straight term, Sitharaman highlighted India’s “commendable growth story” in recent years amid global turmoil. She also pledged more steps to ensure “ease of living”.

The Indian economy has witnessed an average of more than 8% annual growth since the Covid-induced output contraction in FY21. Moreover, the International Monetary Fund has forecast that India will remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy in the current fiscal and the next, with rates of expansion touching 6.8% and 6.5%, respectively — more than double the global average. Economists have suggested that the government build on the current growth momentum and also pursue tough reforms, such as those in land, labour and agriculture, to catapult the economy into a higher growth orbit.

Upon the assumption of the charge on Wednesday, the FM was briefed by the secretaries of various departments of her ministries.

She called for “the continued support and cooperation of all stakeholders, including industry leaders, regulators and the citizens, to ensure a strong and vibrant economy”, according to a finance ministry post on X. She exhorted officers of her departments to advance the current government’s development agenda with renewed vigour and “ensure responsive policymaking to achieve the prime minister’s vision of a Viksit Bharat” (developed India) by 2047.