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India triumphing despite economic selfishness: PM
Speaking at the Semicon India 2025 conference in Delhi, Modi said GDP growth in the April-June quarter was better than “every expectation, hope and estimate”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the stellar performance of the Indian economy and underlined that the country had outperformed global peers despite challenges arising from “economic selfishness”, in what appeared to be strong comments against steep US tariffs that came into effect last month.
Speaking at the Semicon India 2025 conference in Delhi, Modi said GDP growth in the April-June quarter was better than “every expectation, hope and estimate”.
“Friends, a couple days back, the GDP numbers came out for this year, first quarter. On one side, when there are many issues playing out in almost every economy and challenges are stemming from economic selfishness, in that environment, India has shown a progress of 7.8% GDP,” said the PM
Indian economic performance came amidst global uncertainties and “aarthik swarth se paida hue chunautiya hai” (challenges stemming from economic selfishness), he said.
“Once again, India has outperformed every expectation, every estimate, and every forecast,” Modi said.
The comments came a day after Modi struck a strategic balance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. Images showed Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding hands and walking towards Chinese President Xi Jinping in the meeting hall, where the three leaders formed a circle, laughing and smiling as they spoke, an apparent effort to convey solidarity.
Modi emphasised that this growth was visible across all sectors -- manufacturing, services, agriculture, and construction -- with enthusiasm evident everywhere, and added that India’s rapid growth was infusing new energy across industries and among every citizen.
He affirmed that this trajectory of growth was propelling India swiftly towards becoming the third largest economy in the world.
His comments came days after data showed that the Indian economy grew at a significantly better than expected 7.8% in the quarter ending June , the highest this number has been in five quarters, underlining strong domestic tailwinds to growth amidst growing external headwinds from US tariffs on Indian exports.
The remarks also appeared to signal resilience in the face of headwinds generated by US President Donald Trump’s decision to levy 50% tariffs on Indian goods, among the highest in the world. The PM has previously also pushed “self reliance” and “Swadeshi” as propellers of growth and prosperity in a world dominated by economic selfishness.
In his XXX-minute speech, Modi reiterated the government view that India was on track to become the world’s third-largest economy in the near future.
He was at the Yashobhoomi convention centre in New Delhi, inaugurating the Semicon India 2025, a day after he returned from his Japan-China visit.
“In the world of semiconductors, there is a saying ‘Oil was black gold, but chips are digital diamonds’,” said the PM. “The last century was defined by oil. The global economy went up and down based on how much petroleum will come out of oil wells. But the strength of the 21st century has accumulated in a small chip.”
He said 10 semiconductor projects worth over USD 18 billion were underway and the country was advancing towards the next phase of the India Semiconductor Mission and revamping the design-linked incentive scheme to tap the USD 1 trillion global chip market.
“The day is not far when the smallest chip made in India will drive the biggest change in the world,” he said. “The day is not far when the world will say -- Designed in India, Made in India, Trusted by the World.”
Noting the presence of semiconductor sector experts from across the globe, with representation from around 50 countries, Modi emphasised that India’s innovation and youth power were also visibly present at the event.
This unique combination, he said, sent a clear message: “The world trusts India, the world believes in India, and the world is ready to build the semiconductor future with India”.
Modi said the global semiconductor market has already reached USD 600 billion and is expected to surpass USD 1 trillion in the coming years.
“Given the pace at which India is advancing in the semiconductor sector, India will hold a significant share in this USD 1 trillion market,” he said.
Addressing investors, he expressed India’s readiness to welcome them with an open heart and said, “Design is ready. The mask is aligned. Now is the time for precision execution and delivery at scale”.
India’s policies are not short-term signals but long-term commitments, he said, assuring that every investor’s needs will be met.
Emphasising the importance of speed in semiconductor manufacturing, the PM said that the less time it takes to clear paper work, the faster “wafer work” will happen.
Information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw presented the PM with a commemorative plaque featuring 33 chips designed and assembled in India. At its center was a chip from ISRO, encircled by chips from four semiconductor plants in Sanand, Gujarat - namely Micron, Kaynes, CG Semi and Tata. The remaining chips were contributed by institutions such as IITs, NITs and C-DAC.
“The ISRO chip goes in the rocket. There are not many countries in the world which can say that their students in educational institutions have designed chips. And India has 20 such institutes where our students are designing,” said the IT minister, adding that the chips were assembled in the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali, Punjab.
Also present at the event were Odisha chief minister Mohan Manjhi and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta.
