Middle class growth engine of India; 500 cities to emerge as econ hubs: FM

PTI

New Delhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, July 3, described the middle class as the growth engine of India, stating that nearly 500 cities are poised to emerge as the country's next centres of economic activity.

Participating in a panel discussion on "How to promote the rise of a new middle class" at the Rencontres Economiques d'Aix-en-Provence in France, Sitharaman said 31% of India's population is middle class. Since the liberalisation of the economy, this segment has grown at an annual rate of 6.3%.

"We think 93% of all spending in India will be because of the middle class or slightly affluent consumers. This middle class is not concentrated in our metropolitan cities; India's model has resulted in development such that they are present in tier two and tier three cities," Sitharaman said. She added that wealth distribution is spreading to cities beyond metropolitan areas, and the middle class is serving as an engine of growth through their consumption.