India will be the third largest economy in the world in 2030, data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows. China, on the other hand, will retain its second rank.
This is yet another estimate in the last one year, in which global agencies and economists have predicted that Asia’s third largest economy will surpass nations such as Germany, Japan and France. According to the USDA data, India as the world’s number three will be a $6.6 trillion economy in 2030.
At present, India is at the eighth place. In 2014-15, the Indian economy is projected to reach a size of $2.1 trillion.
In a January 2013 report, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a consulting firm, concluded that “India should become the third ‘global economic giant’ by 2050, a long way ahead of Brazil.” But in a revised estimate, published in a report in July 2014, PwC said India is poised to be the third largest economy in the world by 2030.
Other agencies, too, have made similar projections in the last few months. For instance, in December, the Centre for Economic and Business Research, a UK-based economic research firm, had said India will reach the third spot even earlier—by 2024. It seems there may be a consensus among crystal-ball gazers of India’s rising position in the global economy.