India now a $4-trn economy, overtakes Japan to become 4th largest: NITI Aayog CEO

India's GDP at current prices stands at $4.187 trillion, surpassing Japan's economy marginally at $4.186 trillion, data showed

Niti Aayog's chief executive officer BVR Subrahmanyam on Saturday said India has surpassed Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world.

The top government think tank's CEO further said that the overall geopolitical and economic environment are favourable to the country.

"We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a $4 trillion economy as I speak," Subrahmanyam said during a briefing of reporters after the 10th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog.

Citing data from International Monetary Fund (IMF), Subrahmanyam said India today is larger than Japan.

"It is only US, China, Germany, which are larger than India and if we stick to what is being planned and what is being thought through, in 2.5-3 years, we will be the third largest economy," Subrahmanyam.

India's GDP at current prices stands at $4.187 trillion, surpassing Japan's economy marginally at $4.186 trillion, data showed. However, Japan's per capita GDP at $33,960 is significantly higher than India's $2,880.

Germany, which is currently at the 4th spot, has a GDP of $4.74 trillion and a per capita GDP of $55,910, according to IMF data.

The development comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024 had promised that India will become the third largest economy in his third term. In 2024, PM Modi returned to power for a third term after securing 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections held between April and June.

During a post-Budget CII event, Modi had remarked that India was the fifth largest economy and the day is not far when it will become the third largest. “When we came to power in 2014, the biggest question was how to bring the economy back on track. The situation was fragile before 2014, there were scams worth lakhs of crores. We have pulled the Indian economy from a very sensitive place,” PM Modi said had said.

Moreover, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had reiterated in May 2024 that India will become the third-largest economy in the world in 2025 or so, soon after PM Modi returns to power for the third time in a row.
With PTI inputs