India to grow fastest among top economies: Finance secy T V Somanathan

India is expected to grow at the fastest pace among the world's leading economies, including China, the US, Germany, and Japan, marking it as the most substantial development opportunity in the future, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan said on Thursday.

“In terms of the size of opportunity, India is arguably the biggest development opportunity of the future because we are large and we are growing faster than the other large economies,” Somanathan said, while speaking at the Indiaspora G20 forum.

Currently, India stands as the fifth-largest economy globally.

The top bureaucrat encouraged the Indian diaspora to act as a catalyst, supporting government efforts to make India the most significant opportunity.

Describing India as the “most beautiful opportunity in the world,” he emphasised that the ability to harness this opportunity would primarily depend not on the diaspora but on India's domestic policies and population.

He also outlined three channels through which the diaspora can exert influence: fund flow, trade, and knowledge transfer.

The senior bureaucrat's remarks follow a recent report by S&P, projecting the Indian economy to double to USD 6.7 trillion by 2031, up from USD 3.4 trillion.

India's economy grew by 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022-23, propelling the annual growth rate to 7.2 per cent, according to official data. In contrast, China recorded an economic growth of 4.5 per cent in the first three months of 2023.

Somanathan also highlighted the government's initiative to provide completely free food to nearly 814 million eligible Indians until December 2023, even suspending the nominal price charged to beneficiaries for food grain supplied under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

He added that the Centre is focused on ensuring inclusive growth, and through programmes like the free food grain plan, it is committed to protecting the vulnerable even during periods of high inflation.