India Overtakes Japan as World's 4th Largest Economy

NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said the Indian economy has become the fourth largest economy in the world and has surpassed Japan. Speaking at the Governing Council Meeting on May 24, NITI Aayog CEO mentioned that in the coming two-three years, India would overtake Germany to become the third largest economy. 

“We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a $ 4 trillion economy as I speak, and this is not my data. This is IMF data. India today is larger than Japan,” said the NITI Aayog CEO. “It’s only the United States, China, and Germany which are larger, and if we stick to, you know, what is being planned, what is being thought through, it’s a matter of another 2, 2.5 to 3 years; we would become the third largest economy,” he added.

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NITI Aayog CEO on Indian Economy 

Citing the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent World Economic Outlook report on Saturday, NITI Aayog CEO highlighted that the Indian economy is at a turning point and at a take-off stage where it can grow rapidly. He mentioned that during the governing council meeting, the centre and state discussed the roadmap for manufacturing services, rural, non-farm, urban, informal, and the green economy sectors. 

“We had sub-themes for manufacturing services, rural, non-farm, urban, informal, and the green economy, as well as the circular economy,” said the NITI Aayog CEO. 

IMF’s Report on Indian Economy 

According to the IMF’s report, the nominal GDP for fiscal year 2026 is projected to reach $ 4,187.017 billion, marginally more than the likely GDP of Japan, which is estimated at $ 4,186.431 billion. The study also projected that the Indian economy would continue to be the fastest-growing major economy for the next two years. The report predicted that the country’s economy would grow by 6.2% in 2025 and 6.3% in 2026. 

PM Narendra Modi on Indian Economy 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the meeting, said to make the “Viksit Bharat” dream possible, the centre and all the states should come together like Team India. He also mentioned that the governments must work towards the inclusion of women into workforce. 

“When every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit,” PM Modi said. “We must make laws, policies so that they can be respectfully integrated in the workforce,” he added.