Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said he was convinced that India would be the third-largest economy in four to five years.
“My own conviction about the way India is growing is that we will drive our economy probably closer to 35-40 trillion-dollar by 2047. The desire of every Indian is to be second to none,” he said addressing the Asia Economic Dialogue in Pune.
The minister exhorted the industry to be proud of their achievements, India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, and the reforms that were done in the past few years. “We believe India not only is the fastest growing large economy but will continue to be so for many decades to come.”
Goyal observed that Asia has its own particular dynamics, where it has economies that were both democracies and those which were non-transparent and non-rule-based. “In the last decade or so, India has wanted to internationalise and engage with technology and modern way of working. Today, India is clearly recognised as the country of the decade, if not the country of the 21st century. We have already moved from the tenth-largest to the fifth-largest economy. We today have a young demographic dividend, which is being recognised as our biggest asset,” he added.
The minister said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has had a severe effect on the developed world more than the developing countries. For food security and energy security and consequential impact on inflation, interest rates and growth, it has had a devastating effect on both developed and developing countries, he added.
Goyal said that over the years, India has hurt its own interests by making the people get used to low-cost substandard goods from China. “The trade deficit with China, which was under 2 billion dollars around 15-16 years ago, increased to around 48 billion dollars by 2014. We allowed products to come from China while they stopped our products from India from going to China due to legitimate or illegitimate reasons. Hence, it was music to my ear when Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to not join RCEP on 4 November 2019,” he added.
The minister also spoke of the need to sensitise the people to take more pride in Indian products. “India believes in the rule of law, their right to liberty, and freedom of expression. Very different economic philosophies coexist in Asia. It will take some time for us to create adequate systems and manufacturing systems, and also sensitise our people and businesses to wean ourselves away from the opium of low-cost low-quality goods coming in from China,” he added.