India poised to become third-largest economy in next few years, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday, October 4, 2023, that India is poised to become the third-largest economy in the next few years.

India is currently the fifth-largest economy globally, with the United States, China, Japan, and Germany occupying the top four places. India's current economy size is estimated to be 3.73 trillion.

Sitharaman said India's political stability under the prime ministership of Narendra Modi will help greatly in strengthening the country's economy.

"The country's political stability, the government's stability in policy formation, and its decisiveness will help the Indian economy grow further," said Sitharaman at the 97th annual day of New Delhi's Sri Ram College of Commerce.

"The political stability that this government is providing is the guarantee of India becoming the third-largest economy," she added.

Sitharaman said that there is significant volatility in the global market, and the Indian food, fertiliser, and fuel markets are not averse to that change.

The finance minister was also unsure if India would supply food grains through the Black Sea. "Today, we don't know if food grains will be supplied through the Black Sea," said Sitharaman.

Taking a dig at the BJP government's critics, who had suggested it to not print or borrow money during the coronavirus pandemic, Sitharaman said that the same people were questioning the country's fiscal deficit numbers now. 

India's fiscal deficit increased to Rs 4.51 lakh crore during the April–June quarter. It was 25.3 per cent of the annual target of Rs 17.87 lakh crore as compared to 21.2 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.

The finance minister said that it was time for international agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund, to make some reforms in their functioning to meet current global needs.

"We want appropriate reforms in international agencies like IMF. They should transform themselves to meet today's requirements," said Sitharaman.