Trump’s “dead economy” jibe gets a fitting reply with Modi’s vision of India as world’s third largest economy
Let us face it. India-US relations are at their lowest ebb in the last 20 years or so. Not even at the time of Pokhran-II, when the US had slapped sanctions on India, were the relations as bad as they are now. It looks like President Donald Trump has taken steps in vengeance, almost trying to punish India for reasons best known to him. Maybe it is India’s rising world stature, its leadership in BRICS, or its growing proximity with Russia that Trump cannot digest.
One thing is clear. Trump isn’t behaving like the friend we all thought he was. Every other day, he is making statements to embarrass the Indian Government and India — his “dead economy” jibe is a case in point. However, he got an emphatic rebuttal from Prime Minister Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India is on course to become the third-largest economy in the world-a future that demands alertness, resilience, and economic self-reliance. Speaking in Varanasi over the weekend, Modi underscored that India’s economic trajectory remains robust, even in the face of external headwinds like the recently announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods by the United States. Without naming Trump directly, the Prime Minister’s remarks were unmistakably a response to the former president’s dismissive comments about India’s economy and threats of further economic penalties. Trump’s criticism came in the wake of India’s continued trade relations with Russia, a geopolitical sore point for Washington. He claimed that India’s economy had “tanked” and was overly dependent on American markets. Yet, Modi painted a different picture-of a rising India, aware of global instability but determined to chart its own course. He minced no words when he said that there is an atmosphere of global instability. India is set to become the third-biggest economy in the world, and that is why India will have to stay alert as far as its economic interests are concerned, accepting the challenge thrown by Donald Trump. The stark contrast between Trump’s alarmist rhetoric and Modi’s nationalist optimism reflects a deeper downturn in India-US relations, which have seen a sharp slide in recent months. The imposition of steep tariffs by Trump has cast a shadow over bilateral economic ties and reflects growing friction on trade, defence alignments, and geopolitical positioning. But while the 25 per cent tariffs may hurt Indian exporters, they are unlikely to derail the country’s broader economic momentum.
India’s domestic demand remains strong, infrastructure investments are accelerating, and the Government continues to prioritise sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and job creation. Modi’s renewed call to the nation to go “vocal for local” and embrace ‘swadeshi’ goods is part of a larger strategic push to reduce dependence on imports and build economic resilience. Trump’s remarks may have been designed for a domestic political audience, but they reflect an increasingly transactional tone in US foreign policy toward India.
New Delhi, in turn, is repositioning itself as a self-reliant power that will engage globally but on its own terms. India’s economy, far from being “dead,” is striving to be decisively independent, increasingly indigenous, and strategically assertive. For India, the message is clear: the path to becoming the world’s third-largest economy lies not in validation from others, but in belief in its own capabilities.
