New Delhi, July 4 -- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday described India's middle class as the primary driver of economic growth, stating that nearly 500 cities are poised to emerge as new centres of economic activity.

Speaking at the Rencontres Economiques d'Aix-en-Provence, Sitharaman noted that the middle class currently accounts for about 31 per cent of India's population and has been expanding at an annual rate of 6.3 per cent since economic liberalisation.

Consumption-Led Growth Beyond Metros

She said, "We think 93 per cent of all spending in India will be because of the middle class or the slightly affluent consumers...and again, this middle class is not concentrated in our metropolitan cities...India's model has resul...