While it is certainly a reason to celebrate that India has become the world’s fourth-largest economy, this economic milestone is only part of the story.
Fauja Singh, 114, died after being hit by a speeding car. His death renews questions about India’s deadly roads, rising accidents, and poor traffic discipline.
Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.
India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.
Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.
What is most remarkable to me about India’s GDP growth is not that it’s now the fourth largest in GDP terms, but that it outpaced the IMF’s November 2024 projection that India would pass Japan’s GDP in 2 years, so around November 2026. The robustness of the growth can be seen in the fact that India became the 4th largest in just 6 months of IMF’s projection. That is ~80% sooner than projected.
Read that and none the wiser as to the size of the challenge so I went to the IMF. Here it is:
GDP per capita PPP (IMF-2025):
1. USA: I$89,100;
2. RoKorea: I$65,000;
3. EU: i$64,500;
4. Japan: i$54,700;
5. Turkey: I$43,000;
6. PRoChina: I$29,000;
7. Mexico: I$25,000;
8. Brazil: I$23,000;
9. Egypt: I$22,000;
10. Iran: I$20,000;
11. Algeria: I$18,000;
12. Indonesia: I$17,600;
13. Vietnam: I$17,500;
14. S.Africa: I$16,000;
15. India: I$12,100;
16. Morocco: I$11,200;
16. Bangladesh: I$10,200;
What is most remarkable to me about India’s GDP growth is not that it’s now the fourth largest in GDP terms, but that it outpaced the IMF’s November 2024 projection that India would pass Japan’s GDP in 2 years, so around November 2026. The robustness of the growth can be seen in the fact that India became the 4th largest in just 6 months of IMF’s projection. That is ~80% sooner than projected.