Kiren Rijiju Shares NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s Praise For India’s IT Growth Amid GDP Debate
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday shared a video featuring NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang speaking positively about India’s technology sector and its growing role in artificial intelligence.
In the video, Huang described India as one of the world’s leading IT hubs and said the country was entering a new phase of technological growth.
“India is one of the world’s leading IT industries, and this is the beginning of a new IT platform,” Huang said.
He also recalled meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi about a decade ago and discussing the potential of artificial intelligence. Huang said he was looking forward to Indian companies and startups using AI technology to develop and strengthen a domestic AI ecosystem.
“I had the benefit of seeing Modi ji a decade ago talking about AI. I’m really anxious and very excited to see local companies and startups in India starting to take advantage of this technology, contribute to it, and build a local AI economy,” he said.
Rijiju’s message to Opposition
Sharing the video on X, Rijiju wrote that “some Indian Politicians need to hear this”, appearing to target Opposition leaders who have questioned the government over India’s latest GDP growth figures.
The remarks come amid a political dispute over India’s reported 7.8% GDP growth in the April-June quarter.
Debate over 7.8% GDP growth
The latest GDP numbers have triggered criticism from former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who questioned the methodology behind the figures.
Garg argued that a downward revision in last year’s current-price GDP had influenced the latest growth comparison. Speaking to NDTV, he said the 7.8% figure appeared impressive but needed closer examination.
According to Garg, last year’s current-price GDP had been revised from ₹86 trillion to ₹80 trillion. He argued that without the revision, growth at current prices would have been considerably lower.
Rijiju, Goyal hit back at critics
The GDP dispute has also led to a war of words between the government and the Opposition.
The Congress’ Kerala unit had shared a graphic featuring a beer mug, with the fizz labelled “official GDP” and the drink below described as the “Indian economy”.
Rijiju responded by questioning whether Congress leaders were influenced by what he described as excessive criticism of the government’s economic record or had become disconnected from the ground reality.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal also criticised those questioning the GDP data. He accused some critics of presenting themselves as economists while appearing on television to undermine the country and urged people not to be influenced by such remarks.
The latest exchange comes as the government and Opposition continue to differ sharply over the interpretation of India’s economic performance and the credibility of the latest growth figures.