Soon, We will be 5th Largest Economy of the World: Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is on the way to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world and the Government is taking reform measures on a “daily basis” to further improve the investment climate in the country.

Speaking at the India-South Africa Business Summit here, he said India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and the Government is committed to building a ‘New India’ with next-generation infrastructure.

At $2.6 trillion, the Indian economy is currently ranked sixth in the world behind the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK.

The Prime Minister listed out some of the Government flagship initiatives like boosting domestic manufacturing through Make in India and digitising the economy through Digital India.

“We are on our way to becoming the fifth largest economy globally...We are one of the top FDI destinations listed by UNCTAD. But, we are not satisfied. On a daily basis, we are making necessary changes and reforms in important sectors of the economy,” he said.

Modi also informed the local and South African businesses that India has jumped to the 77th position in the latest edition of World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report, which is an improvement of 65 places in the last four years.

“We are committed to building a ‘New India’ with next generation infrastructure and with emphasis on speed, skill and scale,” he said.

Talking about bilateral economic relations between the countries, Modi said trade between India and South Africa is on the upswing and has crossed the $10 billion mark in 2017-18.

“However, there is great potential still. I call upon all Indian and South African Government agencies, investment promotion organisations as well as business leaders of both countries to work pro-actively to realise the true potential,” he said.

India’s investment into South Africa is constantly growing and this has approached $10 billion, creating over 20,000 jobs locally.