Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, December 16
India appears on track to surpass Japan and Germany to become the world’s third largest economy by 2027 as projected by major international financial institutes, Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat said on Friday.
Citing the latest export data released by the government on Thursday night, Shekhawat said, “India is the bright spot on the horizon of a dim world economic outlook and was on track to surpass Japan and Germany as the third largest economy of the world.”
Shekhawat said India’s trade exhibited an impressive performance with overall export (Merchandise and Services combined) of USD 58.22 billion in November 2022.
The exports exhibited a positive growth of 10.97 per cent over the same period last year, he said.
The minister said that overall import in November 2022 is estimated to be USD 69.33 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 5.6 per cent over the same period last year.
Commenting on the trade deficit with China, which continued to transgress along the LAC, the minister said it was a case of viewing issues in a piecemeal fashion.
“It’s like the take of the blind persons drawing varied interpretations about an elephant. We are importing raw materials and components from China but we are also exporting goods to other countries through value addition to materials imported from China. So if we view the deficit with China alone it would look big but if we see the overall import-export bouquet we will see that we are exporting much more today and our opportunities are improving,” said Shekhawat talking to select reporters about manufacturing and exports.
The Jal Shakti minister said India is the world’s pharmacy. “We have now established drug parks for which we need to import API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) because domestic production of API, although being augmented, is not adequate. We are making strides in engineering goods manufacturing for which we need to import raw material. We are exporting 1 billion USD worth of mobiles every month. We have become the second largest exporter in this area. What’s important is we are adding value and exporting stuff,” he said.
India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) from April-November 2022 is estimated to exhibit a positive growth of 17.72 per cent over the same period last year.
As India’s domestic demand has remained steady amidst the global slump, overall imports from April-November 2022 are estimated to exhibit a growth of 29.47 per cent over the same period last year, a government statement said.
Shekhawat said that over the past eight years Prime Minister Narendra Modi had planned ahead to uplift Indian economy through Mudra, Skill India and Start-up India initiatives and of late through 14 production-linked incentive schemes to build a self-reliant India.
“Today, out of 700 districts in India 630 have at least one registered start-up. India has 108 unicorns. We have 70,000 start-ups. The Indian economy is not just a silver lining in the global cloud, it is on the verge of becoming the shining star,” Shekhawat said.
