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.
Haryana's revised BPL criteria, expanding the scope for families to qualify as BPL, has sparked debate, with govt data showing 2.10 cr residents classified as impoverished.
CM Khattar, while unveiling a free college education scheme, said 50% of Haryana households earn less than Rs 1.80 lakh per annum. Critics have interpreted it in multiple ways.
MP's growth is driven by agriculture, with industry lagging behind. State is behind on socio-economic indicators such as quality of education & maternal mortality.
Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Gurugram add to the wealth of their states. It's crucial to look at district data because the 15th Finance Commission's calculation ignores intra-state inequality.
Last month, finance ministry celebrated the fact that 'per capita income has more than doubled to Rs 1.97 lakh' since 2014. Congress claims per capita income grew '259 per cent' under UPA.
MP-Bundelkhand is silently increasing its economic might, powered by its agricultural sector. Growth in Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand, on the other hand, has stagnated.
Like Turkey and Egypt, Pakistan is one of a handful of powers with the human resources and infrastructure to help secure the Persian Gulf as Trump’s America draws down its military presence.
ACM Katre was 2nd IAF chief to die in harness. It was at a memorial lecture in his honour where IAF chief AP Singh revealed that India shot down 6 Pakistani aircraft in Op Sindoor.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
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.