India to be third largest economy by FY28, a developed nation by 2047: FM

Gandhinagar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday exuded confidence that India will become the world's third largest economy worth over USD 5 trillion by 2027-28 and a developed nation by 2047, with GDP touching USD 30 trillion. India, with a GDP of roughly USD 3.4 trillion, is currently the fifth largest economy in the world, after the US, China, Japan and Germany.

Sitharaman said during the Amritkal, which will mark 100 years of India's Independence in 2047, emphasis is being given to sunrise industries. Also, the FDI policy of the Narendra Modi Government has helped attract foreign investment, with USD 595 billion coming in the last 9 years.

"It is possible that we will be the third largest economy by 2027-28, and our GDP will cross USD 5 trillion by that time. By 2047, it is a conservative estimate that we will reach at least USD 30 trillion in terms of economy," Sitharaman said while addressing a seminar of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024.

Stressing that the people of India have met with the challenges post-COVID and recovery is on a strong footing, she said Gujarat will 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 CAGR (annual growth) between 2011 and 2021 against a national average of 10.4 per cent, the Union Finance Minister said.

Sitharaman 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 USD 919 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). 65 per cent of this, or USD 595 billion, has come in the last 8-9 years, Sitharaman said.

"FDI is coming in... where policies bring in greater certainty, convenience, ease of doing business, FDI flows in. Of course, disruptions of higher US Fed rate and other things can divert it elsewhere. But despite that, we have been receiving that kind of flow of the FDI. It is not as if it's coming only for manufacturing, it is coming in the service sector (as well)," she said.

Speaking about financial inclusion, Sitharaman said 80 per cent of people have bank accounts. The number of bank account holders increased to 50 crore from 15 crore in 2014.