Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday highlighted India’s economic resilience, making what seemed like a subtle reference to Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Speaking at the Semicon India 2025 conference in Delhi, he said the country has managed to grow strongly at a time when the world faces problems caused by “economic selfishness”.

The comment came as the United States, under former President Trump, slapped heavy duties on Indian products. Trump had imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports as part of his “Make America great again” campaign.

India’s growth crosses expectations

PM Modi pointed to recent GDP numbers to underline India’s performance. “Once again, India has performed better than every expectation, every assessment. At a time when there are concerns in the economy of the world, there are challenges created by economic selfishness; in that environment, India has achieved a growth of 7.8 per cent,” he said.

Official data showed that India’s economy expanded 7.8 per cent year-on-year in the April-June quarter, higher than the 7.4 per cent growth in the previous three months. This marks the fastest pace in five quarters, just before the new US tariffs took effect.

Semiconductors and global trust in India

At the conference, PM Modi stressed that India had gained international confidence. He said the world now looks at India as a trusted partner in building the future of semiconductors. As a symbolic step, he was presented with the first made-in-India chips at the event.

Rising tensions over US tariffs

The economic backdrop includes Washington’s recent trade actions against New Delhi. In August, Trump first announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports. Later, he added another 25 per cent penalty, pointing to India’s purchase of Russian oil.

India, however, has rejected these moves as unfair. Officials have repeatedly said the tariffs imposed by the United States are “unjustified”.