Fri Jan 31 04:00:00 UTC 2025: ## India’s Economic Growth Slows, Budget Session Begins
**New Delhi, January 31, 2025** – India’s economic growth is slowing, with projections revised downward from an anticipated 7% at the start of 2024 to a UN-projected 6.6% for 2025. This follows a year of contrasting fortunes, with strong growth in the first half giving way to a slower second half, sparking debate between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Finance Ministry over the causes.
President Droupadi Murmu today officially commenced the Parliament’s Budget session for FY 2025-26, addressing both houses. Immediately following this, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2024-25, offering an official assessment of the year’s economic performance.
While India remains one of the fastest-growing economies globally, the revised growth figures reflect a less optimistic outlook than previously anticipated. The UN attributes the 6.6% growth projection primarily to robust private consumption and investment. The report further indicates that South Asia’s economic growth will remain strong, largely fueled by India’s performance.
Despite this, the slowing growth rate has prompted concerns, particularly given that the slowdown occurred despite increased government capital expenditure. The government faces the challenge of addressing this economic deceleration, as indicated by the recently released provisional GDP estimates.
The Union Budget 2025-26, detailing budgetary allocations and revenue expectations, will be presented by Finance Minister Sitharaman on February 1st. The Budget session will run in two parts, the first from January 31st to February 13th and the second from March 10th to April 4th.
First Piper 