India is set to regain its position as the world’s fastest growing economy in the current fiscal ending March 31, 2022.

India is likely to overtake Japan as Asia’s second-largest economy by 2030 when the country’s GDP is projected to surpass that of Germany and the UK to rank as the world’s No.3, Khaleej Times said in its report published on January 9, 2022.

As per the Dubai-based English daily, the size of the Indian economy, based on current prices in dollar terms, is estimated to be $3.1 trillion. It is currently the sixth-largest in the world, behind the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK.

Citing a data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the Gulf daily said India’s gross domestic product will grow 9.2 per cent in the current fiscal year, the fastest since 1988-89, helped by a robust farm sector and strengthening recovery in manufacturing, construction and services sector. The third Covid-19 wave may hurt expansion in the months ahead.

The daily further quotes the World Bank, stating India’s GDP in current dollar terms had risen to $2.9 trillion in 2019 before falling to $2.7 trillion in 2020 due to Covid-19 impact.

“An important positive factor for India is its large and fast-growing middle class, which is helping to drive consumer spending,” leading information provider, IHS Markit said, forecasting that the country’s consumption expenditure will double from $1.5 trillion in 2020 to $3 trillion by 2030.

“India’s nominal GDP... is forecast to rise from $2.7 trillion in 2021 to $8.4 trillion by 2030 which will result in the size of Indian GDP exceeding Japanese GDP by 2030, making India the second-largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region,” the Dubai-based daily said.

For the full fiscal year 2021-22, India’s real GDP growth rate is projected to be 8.2%, rebounding from the severe contraction of 7.3% year-on-year in 2020-21, IHS Markit said. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the Indian economy is forecast to continue growing strongly at a pace of 6.7%.

Foreign investors have turned net buyers in the first week of January by infusing Rs32.02 billion in Indian equities after three months of selling spree as corrections in markets provided them a good buying opportunity, the daily said.

Read the complete article in Khaleej Times: