After overtaking Britain to become the 5th largest economy and registering a growth of 13.5 per cent from a year ago in the April-June quarter, India is set to become the third largest economy in the world by 2029, said the State Bank of India (SBI) in a report.
According to the report, the share of India’s GDP is now at 3.5 per cent, as against 2.6 per cent in 2014 and is likely to cross 4 per cent in 2027, the current share of Germany in global GDP.
“The path taken by India since 2014 reveals India is likely to get the tag of the third largest economy in 2029, a movement of 7 places upwards since 2014 when India was ranked 10th. India should surpass Germany in 2027 and most likely Japan by 2029 at the current rate of growth,” it stated.
India has undergone a large structural shift since 2014 and is now the 5th largest economy. Interestingly, India had surpassed the UK as the fifth largest economy as early as December 2021 itself and not recently as is being claimed, the report stated.
The report mentioned that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Q1FY23 was 13.5 per cent. At this rate, India is likely to be the fastest growing economy in the current fiscal.
“Interestingly, even as estimates of India’s GDP growth rate for FY23 currently range from 6.7 per cent to 7.7 per cent, we firmly believe that it is immaterial. In a world that is ravaged by uncertainties, we believe 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent growth is the new normal,” the report stated.
The bank in the report also urged to update the IIP basket which is composed of a 2012 set of products and is hopelessly outdated.
For example, the IIP basket does not contain handset exports that are now produced by companies like Foxconn in India.
Separately, the steel production by select companies has undergone locational shifts which are not a part of the IIP sample. Nokia’s handset manufacturing facility in Chennai closed down post-2014.
“Hilariously, the facility is now producing 5G Radio sets. We believe that manufacturing growth in India will see an upward revision once this is done,” the report mentioned.
As per the report, in the coming days, India is likely to be the beneficiary as China slows down in terms of new investment intentions.
Global tech major Apple’s recent decision to shift part production of its flagship iPhone 14 model for worldwide shipping from India, with a negligible time lag of a few weeks, posts its slated launch on September 7, bears testimony to such optimism.
The move by Apple, the most recognisable face of tech-infused innovation in the last two centuries, that captures aspirations of an upwardly mobile population should open the floodgates for other major conglomerates to follow suit, it stated.
“Broad-based growth of empowerment will also lift India’s per capita income from current levels and this could also be a force multiplier for a better tomorrow,” the report mentioned. (Business World)
