India will be $30 trillion economy by 2047, says Sitharaman at Gujarat summit
The Union finance minister said Gujarat has 5% of India’s population, but it contributes 8.5% to its GDP
India is certain to become the world’s third largest economy by 2027-28 with its gross domestic product (GDP) crossing the $5 trillion mark, and the country will become an at least $30 economy that will also be “inclusive” and “empower growth for all citizens” by 2047, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, where she laid out the road map for Viksit Bharat, Sitharaman said the Centre and states working together will be able to attain the ambitious goal of making India a developed country by 2047, and Gujarat will lead the way by acting as a “powerful engine”.
Gujarat has 5% of India’s population, but it contributes 8.5% to its GDP, she said. “The per capita income [of the state] is 1.7 times the national average. So, it is a state that is rapidly moving forward and the state is growing at 12% CAGR between 2011 and 2021 while the national average was 10.4%,” she added.
Sitharaman stressed that all states will play a significant role in achieving the Viksit Bharat goal by 2047. “Since 2014, I can speak with certain authority, that the approach between states and Centre has been of cooperative federalism, competitive federalism, and also collaborative federalism. And that is how today you find states competing with one another to see who’s going to contribute how much towards building a developed India in 2047,” she said.
The Centre is working with states and leveraging their strengths to overcome challenges, the finance minister said. “So, this participatory approach is what gives us the language for thinking about how India can be reaching that target through the Amrit Kaal -- the 25 years between now and 2047,” she added.
She said that she was confident that India will not just be a developed nation in terms of a $30 trillion economy by 2047, but it will also be a “$30 trillion inclusive [economy], empowering growth for all citizens”. So the Viksit Bharat agenda is a comprehensive vision plan, she said.
“The 21st century will be our century, but even by 2027-28, it is believed that we surely will be able to reach the third largest economy goal, about which honourable Prime Minister has been speaking with a good sense of confidence, and that is because people of India have met with the challenges post-Covid and built the recovery on a strong footing and therefore it is possible that we will be the third largest by 2027-28, but also that our GDP will cross $5 trillion by that time,” she said.
Sitharaman also said that India has become one of the major investment destinations reflecting a prudent foreign direct investment (FDI) policy.
“Just look at the numbers. India attracted between April 2000 and March 2023 … $919 billion in FDI. But it is important for us to recognise that 65% of this $919 billion, that is about $595.25 billion, had all reached India in the last 8-9 years,” she said. “So, FDI is coming in. It’s like water, it flows to the lower end where policies bring in greater certainty and conveniences of doing business.”
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