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Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday the Indian economy could grow to be a $5-trillion economy in 10-12 years, if it could sustain seven-eight per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth a year and creates avenues to absorb its burgeoning youth workforce.
Speaking at an event organised by FICCI, he said a high growth rate was necessary if India were to absorb its rising youth work force and strengthen its currency. India's GDP growth, after registering a sub-five per cent rate in two financial years, grew 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of FY15.
India's expanding youth population, what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly termed as its 'demographic dividend, means that nearly half the population is under 25. Studies show that by 2020, the country may have the youngest population in the world, with a median age of 29 years, compared with a median age of 37 years in China at that point. This means more people coming out of an education and looking for jobs.
