New Delhi: Union minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that India will pip Great Britain to become the fifth largest economy in the world next year if economic expansion continues at the projected rate.
He said that the Modi government will not follow the model of 1970s and 1980s of the Congress Party, which “involved populist slogans rather than sound policy and actual expenditure for the welfare of the poor.”
The recently released World Bank data reveals that India has now become the sixth largest economy relegating France to the seventh position. “If we keep growing at the rate which is being projected, it is likely that next year we will be the fifth largest economy ahead of Great Britain. This is in consonance with the rest of the narrative. Being the fastest growing economy for the last four years, we can look at the next decade as one of economic expansion,” said Mr Jaitley in a social media post.
However, he said that obviously, on account of disparity in the size of the population, there would be a very significant difference in the per capita of the two countries.
Mr Jaitley said that India has already seen a significant move up in India’s ranking in the ease of doing business and as a preferred investment destination.
“Today we stand to be tested in the midst of a global challenge thrown up on account of the international crude oil prices and the trade war,” he said.
Mr Jaitley said that the economy has started witnessing many of the advantages of a fast growing economy. However, he underlined the challenges before the government which were how to quickly deplete poverty levels, how to translate the advantages of faster growth to rural India and how to bring a significant section of people into the neo-middle class so that their aspirations can also be met with.
