Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday, 6 June 2026, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies for positioning India as the world's fastest-growing major economy, citing a projected 7.7% GDP growth rate for financial year 2025-26. Puri attributed the performance to structural reforms that he said shielded the economy from successive global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing geopolitical conflicts.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter), Puri described India's economic trajectory as a 'रिफॉर्म एक्सप्रेस' ('Reform Express') leading the world. He wrote that 'whether it was the dark period of a pandemic like Corona or wars in the world, PM Modi's far-sighted policies kept the country's economy safe and strong in every global crisis.' The post tagged both @PMOIndia and @FinMinIndia, signalling a coordinated government messaging effort.

The 7.7% GDP growth figure cited for FY 2025-26 forms the centrepiece of Puri's claim that India has 'left all major economies behind amid global challenges.' India is currently ranked the fifth-largest economy globally and has consistently been among the top performers in major international growth assessments during the post-pandemic period.

Policy Backdrop

The Modi government's economic reform programme spans more than a decade. The Goods and Services Tax (GST), implemented in 2017, unified indirect taxation across states and broadened the tax base. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), enacted in 2016, improved credit discipline and strengthened the ease of doing business.

When the pandemic struck in 2020, the government launched the Atmanirbhar Bharat package — a multi-tranche fiscal and supply-side support programme — to cushion the economic shock. The earlier Make in India initiative, launched in 2014, aimed to attract foreign investment and build domestic manufacturing capacity. Together, these measures form the policy lineage Puri invoked in his post.

Stakeholders and Impact

A 7.7% growth rate — if sustained — would keep India comfortably ahead of other large economies, reinforcing its appeal to global investors and the private sector seeking stable, high-return markets. Formalisation of the economy through GST and IBC has also expanded the government's fiscal capacity, enabling continued infrastructure investment even during external shocks.

For ordinary citizens, sustained high growth translates into job creation and rising incomes, though the distribution of those gains remains a subject of ongoing policy debate. The petroleum sector, which Puri directly oversees, is itself a significant input cost across the economy, meaning energy price stability is closely linked to the broader growth narrative he is advancing.

What's Next

The government's growth claims will face scrutiny when the next Economic Survey and Union Budget are released, which will carry revised official estimates for FY 2025-26. Forthcoming updates from the IMF and World Bank on relative growth rankings will either reinforce or complicate the 'fastest-growing major economy' positioning. Puri's post, amplified through official government handles, suggests the BJP intends to make economic resilience a central plank of its political messaging in the period ahead.