Economy growing at over 7% despite export ordeal: Nirmala Sitharaman

The country's economy is growing at over 7% despite the weakness in exports sector, Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.

"India is the bright spot. Nobody is denying the (fall in) exports. Export is suffering, but the fact remains that the Indian economy is growing at over 7%," she told reporters after delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore here.

Exports dipped for the fourteenth month in a row in January, falling 13.6% to $21 billion, due to fall in shipments of petroleum and engineering goods.

Giving reasons for the weakness in exports, Sitharaman said, "The contraction in demand that is happening all over the globe is the reason currency values are falling and markets to which we have been traditionally exporting are facing devaluation of their currencies."

However, the brighter side of the India economy lies in the fact that the country continues to attract investments, she said.

"Investments are coming in, manufacturing is happening here... So, these are the brighter sides of the story," she said.