India’s growth needs wider consumer base, stronger private sector: Sitharaman – The Tribune

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said India’s economic growth will require that companies should cater to a wider range of consumers and support new fields of development.

Speaking at the 53^rd National Management Convention of the All India Management Association in New Delhi, Sitharaman stated that the government was facilitating increased private sector participation in fields such as space and nuclear energy.

She encouraged business executives to go past an urban premiumisation approach and develop skills that can facilitate the nation’s involvement in global value chains.

“India’s development requirements can increasingly be fulfilled by the market, and industry must take the initiative to address them,” she said.

The Finance Minister emphasized the need for a change in how Indian companies view value creation. She asserted that the country’s goals should go further than just producing goods; it should also focus on cultivating the intellectual property, design, and technological skills that support them.

Sitharaman warned that the upcoming phase of consumer demand must not rely solely on wealthy urban households. She noted that increasing incomes and greater mobility would boost discretionary spending, generating opportunities in healthcare, personal wellness, consumer goods, and premium services.

The consumption base also encompasses working families in agriculture, rural construction, transportation, and informal businesses. A strategy that targets solely high-end consumers in urban areas may jeopardise sustainable growth.

“Corporate leadership should still refrain from creating solely for the formal urban elite,” Sitharaman stated.

The Minister positioned the private sector’s contribution within a broader investment-driven economic structure. Union capital spending for 2026-27 has increased to over Rs 12 lakh crore, while actual capital expenditure, which includes grants to states for developing capital assets, has exceeded Rs 17 lakh crore, she stated.

Sitharaman referenced the nearly completed electrification of India’s railway system and a record freight loading of 1,670 million tonnes as signs of infrastructure progress.

Sitharaman added that India’s public finances are changing, with more borrowing focused on investment instead of consumption. As per the finance minister, this was a change that few emerging markets could assert.

She described India as being at a ‘structural inflection point,’ where reforms and increasing incomes are shaping the economy’s trajectory. She stated that the shifting demand landscape would progressively direct consumption towards discretionary categories as household incomes increase.

Sitharaman’s comments unified three aspects of economic policy: expanding the consumer market, boosting private involvement in development, and promoting Indian firms to develop advanced technological capabilities.