BENGALURU: India will remain the fastest-growing major economy for at least the next three years, setting it on course to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, S&P Global Ratings said in a report.

S&P expects India, currently the world’s fifth-largest economy, to grow at 6.4 per cent this fiscal year and estimates growth will pick up to 7pc by FY27. In contrast, it expects China’s growth to slow to 4.6pc by 2026 from an estimated 5.4pc this year.

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew a bigger-than-expected 7.6pc in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, data showed last week, which prompted several brokerages to raise their full-year estimate.

However, S&P, which had raised its forecast even before the latest data, said India’s growth will depend on its successful transition to a manufacturing-dominated economy from a services-dominated one.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2023