Indian GDP on track to $10-trn mark: WEF chief

The Indian economy is the fastest growing among all large economies of the world. We saw in Davos this year that there was a huge interest in India and I think this will only continue. When you come to India, you feel some optimism which is not the case all over the world - Borge Brende, President, World Economic Forum

New Delhi: India is on track to become a $10 trillion economy in coming years and grab the third-largest slot soon, World Economic Forum President Borge Brende said on Thursday as he described the country as a place with optimism not seen elsewhere in a very fragmented and polarised world. In an exclusive video interview, Brende also said that the World Economic Forum (WEF) hopes to come back to the country with the WEF India Summit in collaboration with Government of India when the time is ripe. “The Indian economy is the fastest growing among all large economies of the world. We saw in Davos this year that there was a huge interest in India and I think this will only continue,” Brende said.

Geneva-based WEF, which describes itself as an international organisation for public-private cooperation, holds its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort town Davos every year in January. Brende said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “always very, very welcome to Davos.” “When you come to India, you feel some optimism which is not the case all over the world.

We are facing a geopolitical recession, a very fragmented and polarised world, but still there are areas where we can collaborate and it is important to find those areas,” he said. Brende said it is necessary to underline that the economic growth is not so bad, especially in the case of India where “we are seeing 7 per cent economic growth and the world’s largest economy, the US, which is also doing very well.”

On India targeting to become the third largest economy in the next 2-3 years, Brende said India is on track to become a $10 trillion economy in the coming years. “India has gone through important reforms and it is well placed vis-a-vis the two largest economies, the US and China. Also, India is seeing a good increase in foreign direct investments, a lot of manufacturing activities are now taking place in India which used to happen in other emerging economies,” he said. He also lauded India’s digital competitiveness and said digital trade is growing much faster than traditional goods in the world today. “India is well placed and it is just a question of time before India becomes the third largest economy in the world after the US and China,” he said.