Coming down heavily on criticism from various quarters on the rising debt in the Indian economy, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said those crying foul over rising debt suggested printing money during the pandemic.

"Those who are alleging that India's debt has increased to high levels are the same people who advised the govt to print money and distribute it during the pandemic. Had the government accepted their advice, we would've become the most indebted nation by now & not the fastest growing economy in the world which we're today," said Sitharaman.