Amid falling sales in key sectors, India's consumption-fueled growth is hitting a roadblock, spelling trouble for Asia's third-largest economy.

The country now wants to pivot away from that reliance on consumption, and move toward exports — typically not a key driver of its economy — to generate growth instead.

Sanjeev Sanyal, principal economic advisor at India's Ministry of Finance, said Tuesday that the country's plan for an "exports-oriented economic policy" is in play.

"Many people often say India's story is about the return of consumption. We are challenging that," he told the Nomura Investment Forum in Singapore.

In fact, the present moment may be offering an opportunity to do just that, he said, adding that India should view the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute as a chance to win some of the international export market.

"Do not worry about the fact that the global exports environment may or may not be conducive. Our share of global exports is so small ... The fact that global supply chains are disrupted should be seen as an opportunity," Sanyal said.

His comments came amid doubts that consumption can continue to be a strong driver of Indian growth. The last few months have featured a slew of weak sales data for key sectors in the country.

India's vehicle sales dropped 17% in April — the worst monthly fall in nearly eight years, and its fifth consecutive monthly decline.

According to Nielsen data, growth in India's fast moving consumer goods sector slowed to 13.6% in the first three months of this year, from almost 16% in the last three months of 2018.

Additionally, data showed the country's economy grew 6.6% in the last three months of 2018 — the slowest pace in five quarters. India's top industry body — the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry — flagged that slowing growth as a "serious concern" and said the big worry was that domestic consumption was not growing fast enough to offset a weakening global economic environment.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India trimmed its growth projection to 7.2% for the 2020 financial year, from an earlier target of 7.4%.