India Becomes World's Fourth Largest Economy, Overtaking Japan: NITI Aayog CEO
"We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy as I speak," he said.
New Delhi: Government think-tank Niti Aayog chief executive BVR Subrahmanyam has said that India has become the fourth largest economy in the world, overtaking Japan. “The overall geopolitical and economic environment is favourable to India and we are the fourth largest economy with a $4 trillion as I speak,” he said citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.
Recently, multilateral agencies like the IMF in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report had said that India is expected to be the fourth largest economy in the world with a GDP of $4.19 trillion in 2025, ahead of Japan. “Till 2024, India was the fifth-largest economy in the world. Now India today is larger economy than Japan,”
Subrahmanyam said.
The IMF had said that India’s nominal GDP for FY26 is expected to be $4.187 billion, marginally more than the likely GDP of Japan, which is estimated at $4.187 billion. “It is only the US, China and Germany which are larger than India, and if we stick to what is being planned and what is being thought through, in 2.5-3 years, we will be the third largest economy,” Subrahmanyam said.
According to IMF data, India’s per capita income has doubled from $1,438 in 2013-14 to $2,880 in 2025. The IMF report also said the Indian economy is projected to grow at 6.2 per cent in 2025-26, slower than earlier estimated rate of 6.5 per cent, due to escalated trade tensions and global uncertainty.
“For India, the growth outlook is relatively more stable at 6.2 per cent in 2025, supported by private consumption, particularly in rural areas. The global growth is projected at 2.8 per cent in 2025, lower by 0.5 percentage points estimated earlier. In 2026, the global economy is estimated to grow at 3 per cent,” the IMF had said.
However, the World Bank defines high-income countries as those whose annual per capita income is more than $14,005 (2024- 25). India has the potential and aims to be a high-income country by 2047. The approach paper said a Viksit Bharat @ 2047 will be a $30 trillion economy, adding that it would have all the attributes of a developed country with a per capita income that is comparable to the high-income countries of the world today.