India can become the world's third-largest economy by 2027-28, says Sitharaman

New Delhi/Gandhinagar: Exuding confidence in the country’s economic growth, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that India would be able to become the third largest economy in the world and the gross domestic product or GDP will cross $5 trillion by 2027-28, while it would be a developed nation by 2047, with GDP touching $30 trillion. “India, with a GDP of roughly $3.4 trillion, is currently the fifth largest economy in the world, after the US, China, Japan, and Germany,” she said at the launch of the Viksit Gujarat roadmap 2047 at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

The finance minister further said that the people of India met with post-Covid challenges and built resilience. “During the Amritkal, which will mark 100 years of India’s Independence in 2047, emphasis is given to sunrise industries. Also, the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy of the Narendra Modi government has helped attract foreign investment, with $595 billion coming in the last 9 years,” Sitharaman said.

Stressing that the people of India have met the challenges post- Covid and recovery is on a strong footing, she said Gujarat would be the engine of growth in India’s march to become a developed economy by 2047. “The state has 5 per cent of India's population but contributes 8.5 per cent to the country’s GDP. It is rapidly moving forward at 12 per cent annual growth (CAGR) between 2011 and 2021 against a national average of 10.4 per cent,” she added.

Sitharaman also said India is on track to become an in-house producer of semiconductors, and EV adoption is happening in a big way. “All of these are the result of the FDI policy being pursued by the government. Between April 2000 and March 2023, in 23 years, India has attracted $919 billion in FDI, while 65 percent out of this, or $595 billion, has come in the last 8-9 years,” she said.