By John Ikani
Britain has fallen behind India to become the sixth largest economy in the world as the government in London struggles to adjust to a harsh cost-of-living shock.
India toppled the UK from its position in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy.
The former British colony increased its lead in the first quarter of the computation, which is based on US dollars, according to IMF GDP data.
The IMF’s forecasts show India overtaking the UK in dollar terms on an annual basis this year, putting the Asian powerhouse behind just the US, China, Japan and Germany.
A decade ago, India ranked 11th among the largest economies, while the UK was 5th.
For the next prime minister, the UK’s slip in global rankings is an unwanted backdrop. On Monday, members of the Conservative Party will elect Boris Johnson’s replacement.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is predicted to defeat former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the final round of voting.
The winning candidate would lead a country that is experiencing its highest rate of inflation in four decades as well as growing chances of a recession that the Bank of England predicts could stretch well into 2024.
By contrast, the Indian economy is forecast to grow more than 7 per cent this year finance secretary T V Somanathan said on Wednesday after official data showed that the April-June quarter GDP grew 13.5%.
At 13.5%, India’s GDP grew at its fastest clip in a year in April-June quarter aided by a favourable base, a robust growth in the farm, services, construction and private consumption.
In the previous quarter (January-March of FY22), the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.1%, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
Commenting on the first quarter GDP numbers, Somanathan said the economy is 4 per cent above pre-Covid levels.
A world-beating rebound in Indian stocks this quarter has just seen their weighting rise to the second spot in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, trailing only China’s.
