New Delhi: Economists and industry experts celebrated India's progress after the country has become the 5th largest economy in the world after the US, China, Japan and Germany. In the final three months of 2021, India leaped past the UK and it further extended its lead in the first quarter, Bloomberg reported citing the GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund. According to the Bloomberg report, the calculation, done using the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database and historic exchange rates, is based on US dollars.
"A world-beating rebound in Indian stocks this quarter has just seen their weighting rise to the second spot in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, trailing only China's," it mentioned.
Business tycoon Anand Mahindra hailed the news and attributed the development to the philosophy of karma.
"The law of Karma works. News that would have filled the hearts of every Indian that fought hard & sacrificed much for freedom. And a silent but strong reply to those who thought India would descend into chaos. A time for silent reflection, gratitude," he tweeted.
Uday Kotak, CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank also reacted and termed it a "proud moment".
"Proud moment for India to pip UK, our colonial ruler, as the 5th largest economy: India $3.5trn vs UK $3.2trn. But a reality check of population denominator: India: 1.4 bn vs UK.068 bn. Hence, per capita GDP we at $2,500 vs $47,000. We have miles to go…Let’s be at it!"
"This is our time to shine," stated Ghazal Alagh, Shark Tank India judge and founder of skincare brand MamaEarth.
Senior Adviser to Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Kanchan Gupta wrote, "India races ahead of Britain to become world’s fifth largest economy and the fastest growing one too."
"While the world is on brink of a recession, India is growing by 7 percent...There is inflation of 10 percent in UK, 9 percent in America and 6-7 percent in India which is normal. It's good news for all Indians before the auspicious occasion of Diwali," Economist Dr Charan Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"India is moving up the power scale and by value of forecast we will become 3rd largest by 2028-30," Dr Arvind Virmani, former chief economic advisor, said.