FM warns against fear mongering as India faces pressure from ‘3 Fs’

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asserted that India “cannot afford fear mongering” amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, saying the government’s policy response to the external shock has been “very calibrated”.Addressing concerns over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call to conserve foreign exchange, Sitharaman said the remarks must be viewed in the context of sharply elevated and fluctuating global commodity prices that have persisted for nearly three months.She pointed to a three-fold external pressure arising from what she described as the “3 Fs” — fuel, fertiliser and foreign exchange requirements.“High international crude prices and very fluctuating. One. High international fertliser prices , unimaginable increase in the fertliser prices. High gold prices that is creating some challenges on the external front. To just put it in context , all these payments will have to be in foreign exchange. There is no rupee trading there. We should understand these 3 Fs…3 Fs fuel , fertliser and foreign exchange”, Sitharaman said .The finance minister also cautioned against “pessimistic, cynical narratives” around India’s economic outlook.“There is a section of Indians who very quickly want to decry the achievements of our own people. A pessimistic, cynical narrative is created which is just not right. It is fear mongering. India cannot afford fear mongering,” the finance minister said.Sitharaman maintained that India’s domestic economic fundamentals remain “positive and resilient” despite the turbulence caused by the West Asia conflict and the commodity price shock.“The policy response has been very calibrated,” she said, adding that the government’s focus has been on limiting the exposure of citizens and businesses to the external shock, supporting MSMEs and exporters facing working capital stress, and preserving the economy’s underlying growth momentum.

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