Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while addressing the Youth Dialogue on Budget 2026-27, drew attention to India’s rising contribution to global growth, where she even cited billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
‘India’s Opposition should understand…’: FM takes a dig citing Musk
Speaking at the event, the FM said, “…Elon Musk takes the IMF data to say ‘wow, is this true’. I don’t remember if he exactly said ‘wow’… China contributes 26% of growth in global GDP. India contributes 17%. Together, 43 % of global GDP growth comes from these two economies… But India’s opposition should also understand that this is the kind of strength that India has acquired now.”
She further added, “Next only to China, the gap may be big, 26 and 17, but we’ll bridge it. But we should have the confidence that, together with a big economy, which is just next door, we contribute 43% of global GDP growth”.
What Elon Musk said on IMF data
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Saturday said the global balance of power is shifting, sharing a chart on X highlighting the top 10 contributors to global real GDP growth in 2026, based on projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Reposting the chart, Musk wrote on X: “The balance of power is changing”.
GDP projection
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the Centre expects the fiscal deficit to narrow to 4.3 per cent of GDP in FY27, a marginal improvement from the 4.4 per cent projected for FY26, underscoring the government’s commitment to fiscal consolidation even as it navigates a volatile global economic environment.
Addressing concerns over the pace of deficit reduction—which market watchers have described as the slowest since the pandemic—Sitharaman defended the fiscal glide path as “responsible and realistic”, arguing that it strikes the right balance between discipline and growth. She reiterated the government’s medium-term target of bringing the debt-to-GDP ratio down to 50±1 per cent by FY31.
In line with this trajectory, the Centre has pegged the debt-to-GDP ratio at 55.6 per cent in FY27 (Budget Estimates), lower than 56.1 per cent in FY26 (Revised Estimates). A declining debt burden, Sitharaman said, would gradually ease interest costs and free up resources for priority spending.
For FY27, the government has projected capital expenditure growth of 11.5 per cent, with outlays estimated at ₹12.21 lakh crore, compared to ₹10.97 lakh crore in FY26 (RE). However, the revised estimate for the current year remains below the ₹11.21 lakh crore originally budgeted for FY26, pointing to a moderation in spending during the second half of the fiscal year—a trend analysts are closely tracking for its potential impact on growth.