India’s economy clocked an impressive 7.4% growth in the fourth quarter of FY 2024–25, smashing analyst expectations and reaffirming its position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world. Yet, much of the domestic and international discourse has been fixated on a seemingly “disappointing” full-year GDP growth figure of 6.5%—a four-year low. The contradiction isn’t just statistical—it’s symptomatic of a deeper malaise in how we choose to understand India’s economic trajectory. Let’s begin by setting the record straight. Yes, 6.5% is lower than the 7.2% recorded in FY24 and the 9.1% in the post-COVID recovery year of FY22. But context matters. FY25 was never meant to be a “recovery” year—it was India’s return to normalcy, a year where global headwinds were supposed to slow down emerging markets. Yet India defied gravity, again. The 7.4% Q4 growth is not an anomaly—it is a culmination of sound macroeconomic management, resilient domestic demand, and growing investor confidence. What’s truly astonishing is not that India grew at 6.5%, but that it did so while the global economy teetered under inflation, banking stress, and geopolitical conflicts. While the US flirted with recession fears, Europe slid into stagnation, and China struggled with structural imbalances, India stood tall. Its growth, unlike China’s debt-fuelled spurt or the West’s stimulus-induced bumps, came from real drivers: manufacturing output, infrastructure spending, and digital expansion. Critics, however, are quick to jump on the “four-year low” label, ignoring the fact that this number is still miles ahead of any developed economy and most emerging peers. Even at 6.5%, India’s economy is projected to contribute nearly 16% to global GDP growth, according to the IMF. The World Bank, too, has consistently upgraded India’s growth forecasts in successive reports.
And yet, commentary from several economists—both homegrown and imported—insists on lamenting rather than lauding. Such pessimism reeks of intellectual dishonesty or worse, ideological bias. The Indian economy isn’t just growing—it’s transforming. Private sector capital expenditure is reviving after a decade-long lull. Tax collections are at record highs, with GST revenues consistently breaching the ₹1.5 lakh crore mark. Foreign direct investment continues to flow in, despite protectionist rumblings across the globe. India’s services exports are booming, and the rupee, despite external volatility, has remained remarkably stable. And let’s not forget what this growth means on the ground. Over 1.2 crore new jobs have been created across sectors in the past year. Highway construction, once a bottleneck, is now a poster child of India’s infrastructure push. Renewable energy capacity is expanding faster than ever. Smartphone production, semiconductor investments, defence exports—these are not flukes. They are the result of policy coherence, political stability, and institutional clarity. Of course, challenges remain. Rural distress, unemployment concerns, and the persistence of inflation in food prices must be tackled with urgency. But to reduce the entire narrative of India’s economy to a number that misses the larger transformation is lazy at best and malicious at worst. In a world where advanced economies are desperately cutting interest rates to stay afloat, India is still growing without overstimulating. It is walking the fiscal tightrope with prudence and ambition. The criticism, often emanating from entrenched elite circles, betrays a discomfort with the fact that India’s rise is being powered by New India—from Tier-2 towns, from small businesses riding UPI, from factories in Tamil Nadu to startups in Bengaluru. India’s GDP growth is not just a number. It’s a statement of confidence. Of resilience. Of aspiration. To those lamenting a “four-year low,” it’s time to zoom out. The Indian economy is not slowing down—it is maturing, deepening, and diversifying. If that is the new normal, then the rest of the world would do well to take notes.
