NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is likely to meet its projected growth target of 6.3%-6.8% for the 2025/26 fiscal year (April-March) if oil prices remain below $70 per barrel, despite global disruptions due to new U.S. tariffs, a finance ministry official said.
The comments come as a trade war, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on trading partners, shakes global markets with major stock indices plunging in Asia on Monday.
Some economists have said Trump’s tariffs could slow India’s growth by 20-40 basis points in the ongoing financial year and may cripple sectors like India’s diamond industry, which ships more than a third of its exports to the U.S., putting at risk thousands of jobs.
A second finance ministry official however said the tariff announcements will not weigh heavily on India’s key fiscal parameters for the 2025/26 year.
India is open to taking more measures to assist exporters impacted by higher U.S. tariffs, the second official added.
“We have already made provisions in the budget for duty remission schemes to help exporters and are open to doing more,” the official said.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media.
India’s finance ministry did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
India does not plan to retaliate against Trump’s 26% tariff on imports from the Asian nation as talks for a deal between the countries progress, Reuters has reported.
(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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