Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said second-quarter GDP growth was temporarily lower than expected, but admitted that July-September was a difficult quarter for the country. India's GDP growth was 5.4% in the second quarter, lower than estimated. India's economy grew by 6.7% in the first quarter.

"The Q2 rate at 5.4% is slower than expected. The second quarter of this fiscal year has been a tough challenge for India and most of the world's economies. Over the past three years, India's GDP growth rate has averaged 8.3%. This is an excellent number by global standards. accordingly," he said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

"India has been the fastest growing economy in the world and the credit goes to the people and leadership of India," he said.

"The slowdown in growth in the second quarter is only temporary; the economy will see healthy growth in the coming quarters," Finance Minister Sitharaman said.

Sitharaman was responding to a debate in the lower house on the first set of Supplementary Demands for Grants. He said that India remains the fastest growing economy in the world.

There is no widespread slowdown in the manufacturing sector, he said, adding that half of the sectors in the overall manufacturing basket remain strong.

Talking about inflation, Sitharaman said it is better under control than during the UPA government, when it touched double digits. Retail inflation in April-October 2024-25 was 4.8 percent, the lowest since the Covid pandemic.

The unemployment rate has also fallen to 3.2% from 6% in 2017-18.