June 17, 2011 / 18:14 IST
US Assistant Secretary of State (Bureau of South and central Asian affairs) Robert O Blake on Friday said the future of Indian economy seems very bright and the country is likely to become the world's third largest economy by 2030, and the largest by 2050.
He added, "The incredible growth of India's economy has resulted in positive spillover effect for the US between 2002-2009, US goods exports to India quadrupled, growing from USD 4.1 billion to more than USD 16.4 billion in 2009."
"US services exports to India more than tripled from USD 3.2 billion to USD 9.9 billion during the period," he said.
Last year, US-India trade in goods broke a record with US exports increasing by 17% and US imports from India rising by 40%, he said during a seminar on 'West Bengal and Beyond: US-India business links and prospects'.
"This surge of nearly 30% to a high of USD 48.8 billion in goods trade moved India up two notches to become our 12th largest goods trading partner. This positive trend continues, with two-way trade up 19 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, over the same period last year," he said.
Blake said US trade with India was very much a two-way exchange with mutual benefits to both the countries.
"Robust two-way trade means citizens from Kolkata to Kansas will see the benefits of our trade agreement," he added. Blake added that India is also a growing source of foreign direct investment into the US.
"The total stock of FDI from India stood at almost USD 5.5 billion at the end of 2009. It has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 35% during 2004-2009, making India the seventh fastest-growing source of investment in US."
Indian companies invest heavily in many US industries such as energy and IT, he said, adding that "We expect their investments to increase."
Blake added the Indian market offers tremendous opportunity to US exporters of goods and services. "India has a market of 1.2 billion of world's consumers," he said.
He said US companies wanted to provide the goods and services needed to upgrade and build India's railroads, airports, power plants and fibre optic cables.
He added, "India will need to invest USD 143 billion in healthcare, USD 392 billion in transportation infrastructure and USD 1.25 trillion in energy production by 2030, to support its rapidly expanding population."
Quoting McKinsey report on India's urban awakening, he said in 2030, the country would have 68 different cities housing one million plus people each.
"India will have to construct as much as 900 million square metres of commercial and residential space each year to keep pace with growing demand," he said.
Blake added that India's military and civil aviation modernisations, priced at around USD 35 billion, are already slated for some of the world's largest purchases in the next decade.
