New Delhi:The transformation of Indian economy from the world’s tenth largest to the fifth position in nine years is a result of conscious strategy and strong political will, according to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who on Thursday said that next journey to the third rank would not be a “fait accompli” as it would depend on “political stability”, “policy consistency” and “decisiveness” of the government.

Speaking at the annual day celebration of Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Sitharaman said that steps taken under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made India the fifth largest economy of the world.

While inaugurating the Bharat Mandapam on July 26, the Prime Minister assured the nation that in the third term of the BJP government, India will be among the top three economies in the world. “Yes, my friends, in the third term, India will be there with pride in the top three economies, and this is Modi’s guarantee,” he said that day.

Criticising his remarks, the Congress party said India’s emergence as the world’s third-largest economy is “guaranteed” regardless of who forms the government after the 2024 elections. “Typical of Mr. Modi to give his personal guarantee on an arithmetical inevitability. India’s emergence as the world’s 3rd largest economy in this decade has been predicted for quite some time now, and its guaranteed – whichever dispensation forms the next government,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the same day.

Without referring to any opposition party or leader, Sitharaman on Thursday said: “It is the people of India who moved it [the economy] from tenth to fifth, and from fifth to the third. To say that it can be a ‘fait accompli’ and therefore, there’s no effort… is to undermine the people of India. People elected Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with overwhelming majority twice – in 2014 and 2019. The next general election is due in the first half of 2024”.

The finance minister said people elected the Modi government twice because they “aspire for better” and their efforts are really pushing up the economy. They include entrepreneurs, farmers, and the economically weaker sections of the society aspiring for better, she said.

“You are students of economics. Will know that most often when we are talking about [an] explanation, a narrative; we normally take onboard ‘ceteris paribus’ … We always say, if other things remain constant this is what will happen…,” she said in reference to the government’s assertion that India would become the third largest economy of the world in the next five-year period of 2024-29.

She said despite all odds and global headwinds – starting from the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic to the Ukraine war and volatile global macroeconomic situation, including disruptions in supply of food, fuel and fertiliser — the Indian government steered the economy well to achieve the fifth position.

While India has been able to navigate through all these problems, the global situation is still volatile because of geopolitical reasons, particularly the war, she said. “There was a time in 2022 when people thought [the war will] not [continue] beyond six months. But it’s going on,” she said pointing towards global supply-chain disruptions leading to hunger in many countries.

Any “flip-flop” in political will power would affect the economic performance and hinder the economic stability, she added.

She called SRCC as a premier “trend-setting” college of the country and said three of her personal staff were alumni of the institution. Two of them have moved to other promising areas – one in the administrative service and the other in politics, she added. Speaking about the third, she said: “I will wait to see where will he go now… all three of them contributed very well.”

She recalled former finance minister Arun Jaitley, SRCC alumnus, as a “phenomenal personality” and her “mentor”. He loved three things – food, Sri Ram College and Cricket, she said adding that he would talk “most often” about the three things than politics.