Bhoomika Singh
India has become the world’s fifth largest economy, beating the United Kingdom. This is a proud moment for the country and India’s position would strengthen further in the coming years on the back of higher economic growth, business leaders and analysts said.
What experts are saying?
“Proud moment for India to pip UK, our colonial ruler, as the 5th largest economy,” Uday Kotak, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kotak Mahindra Bank, said in a tweet.
As per the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, India overtook the United Kingdom in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth largest economy in the world, according to a media report. Now India is just behind four countries in terms of the size of the economy in terms of dollar terms. The countries whose economic size is more significant than India are the United States, China, Japan and Germany.
The UK is now behind India in the sixth position. Reacting to the news of India overtaking the UK to become the fifth largest economy, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted, “The law of Karma works. News that would have filled the hearts of every Indian that fought hard & sacrificed much for freedom. And a silent but strong reply to those who thought India would descend into chaos. A time for silent reflection, gratitude.” “Before 2014, we were in fragile five economies.
It is a huge feat to become the 5th largest economy and surpass an economy like Britain from that position,” said Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture. While India has overtaken the United Kingdom in terms of the size of the economy, the per capita income in India remains very low because of the high population.
India US$ 3.5 trillion vs UK US$ 3.2 trillion. But a reality check of population denominator: India: 1.4 billion vs UK 0.068 billion. Hence, per capita GDP we at US$ 2,500 vs US$ 47,000. We have miles to go…Let’s be at it, Uday Kotak said in the tweet.
Reacting to the big breaking, the Global Chief Economist, Dun & Bradstreet India, Dr Arun Singh said, “From being one of the fragile five countries to becoming the 5th largest economy in the world after overcoming the deadly pandemic shows that India has reached a remarkable milestone at a time when most countries are struggling to fight against stagflationary pressures. However, the roots had been cemented from the time India was able to emerge from the long period of policy paralysis and adopt a series of important reform measures.
A pro-business policy framework, removal of structural rigidities and continuation of reforms are some of the major initiatives taken over the last few years to unleash India’s growth potential. Manufacturing India followed by the PLI schemes, Digital India initiatives, financial inclusion, and ease of doing business measures with a thrust on infrastructure development has supported this achievement and would continue to correct the economic imbalances and shift the economy onto a more sustainable growth path.
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“Strengthening the agriculture sector, bridging the rural-urban divide, a strong network of health infrastructure and importantly skill-oriented education system would add to the quality of growth and is much needed for India to become a developed nation, he further added.
