Piyush Goyal hits back at GDP critics, says 7.8% growth is a reality

Goyal defends growth figures

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (September 2, 2026) hit back at critics of India's 7.8% GDP growth figure for the April–June 2026 quarter, saying the numbers reflect a reality and accusing opposition leaders and former officials of misleading the public.

Speaking at the annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) in Delhi, Goyal described India as "one oasis in the desert" amid global turmoil, and said the country continued to be the fastest-growing among large economies.

"The naysayers can say what they want, but 7.8 per cent growth is a reality," Goyal told reporters, according to The Hindu and Moneycontrol.

The minister alleged that critics were comparing a growth rate based on an old data series with a new one, where the base year itself has changed. "They don't even know how to compare apples with apples. They are trying to misguide the people of India," he said, as reported by The Hindu.

Goyal also dismissed the critics as "the only jobless people left," adding that their only remaining job was to appear on television panels to "concoct or manufacture" arguments, as quoted by The Tribune and The Hindu.

Critics' concerns

The controversy follows public remarks by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan and former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who questioned the reliability of the growth data.

Rajan, in remarks reported by The Tribune, asked: "Are these growth numbers real?" He also asked, "If we are growing so quickly, why aren't we creating more jobs, more good jobs?" and questioned why there wasn't more investment.

Subhash Chandra Garg, who served as finance secretary in 2019, said the headline 7.8% figure was based on a revised foundation. According to The Tribune, Garg said: "Last year's GDP at current prices was Rs 86 trillion. This has been lowered to Rs 80 trillion. The increase in current prices would have been only 2.6% if the GDP from the previous year had not been adjusted."

Garg added, as reported by The Hindu, that "truth cannot be hidden," and that the system that records monthly and quarterly economic activity has been in place for years.

Goyal's rebuttal

In response, Goyal said the critics were trying to "find holes" in the data by asking where the jobs are. He cited strong demand for workers, particularly in the textile sector, noting that industry in Tiruppur had requested 100,000 additional workers. "Send me 100,000 people in Tiruppur, we will fill and provide them a job," he said, according to The Hindu.

Goyal also said that ministers do not manufacture the data, and that "truth cannot be hidden," as reported by The Tribune. He predicted that the critics "will fail again, just as they have failed repeatedly."

US trade ties

US ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who was present at the ACMA event, said Washington and New Delhi are closely working on building a "fair" trade relationship, as reported by Moneycontrol. Goyal is expected to visit the United States at the end of this month, according to the same report.