Bengaluru, June 14 (IANS) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was repeatedly criticising the country's economic performance, "on the contrary, quarter after quarter, year after year India has been the fastest growing economy". Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'Viksit Bharat' event here, Union Minister Sitharaman noted that it is not the Central government, which is claiming that India is the fastest-growing economy, but the GDP numbers were indicative of this.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also said India was the world's fastest growing major economy, she said. She also added that the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi keeps saying that there is a big disaster awaiting, but there is none awaiting India. The Union Minister said that repeated criticism by the Congress leader could create a false perception among citizens about the country's economic condition.

"The Leader of the Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) and his party try to make people believe that India is in trouble. Yet even amidst crises in West Asia and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, India continues to move forward," Union Minister Sitharaman remarked. Commenting on the impact of geopolitical tensions on fuel supplies and global trade, she said the challenges extended beyond fluctuations in crude oil and LPG prices. "These challenges affect not only crude oil prices and LPG prices but global shipping as well. Shipping companies hesitate to send vessels through conflict zones. Insurance premiums increase because ships risk being attacked. Whether a vessel is empty or carrying crude oil, insurance costs rise significantly, and those costs ultimately have to be paid to ensure supplies reach the country," she noted.

"Despite these global headwinds, the Narendra Modi government has ensured uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products," she said. Union Minister Sitharaman said the BJP's 12-year journey under Prime Minister Modi was marked by both development and welfare. She highlighted the reduction in multidimensional poverty, expansion of tap water connections, sanitation coverage, free LPG connections and food security programmes as the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led Union government.

"Twenty-five crore Indians have come out of multidimensional poverty. Extreme poverty has declined from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to about 11.28 per cent. Twelve crore household toilets have been built under rural sanitation programmes, achieving near-universal coverage," the Union Finance Minister said. She added that the government benefits were directly reaching the poor through the digital public infrastructure ecosystem built around the JAM trinity -- Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity.

Union Minister Sitharaman said that India now has 58 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 144 crore Aadhaar identities and 125 crore mobile connections while UPI had become a global model for digital transactions. She also rejected the Congress' claims that the Centre had neglected Karnataka and cited tax devolution, grants and infrastructure investments to back her argument.

Union Minister Sitharaman said, "The Karnataka government frequently claims that the Centre is not giving the state its due share. Let us look at the facts. Tax devolution to Karnataka between 2014 and 2026 amounted to about Rs four lakh crore -- five times more than the Rs 82,000 crore received in the comparable pre-2014 period." "Grants-in-aid to Karnataka between 2014 and 2026 stood at about Rs 2.71 lakh crore and that the state had also received more than Rs 18,000 crore under the Centre's 50-year interest-free loan scheme," the Union Finance Minister added.

--IANS