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.
A State Bank of India report says this will put pressure on these states’ infrastructure, and widen income distribution gap between the south and north.
Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.
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.