India to overtake UK and France next year; to become 5th largest economy: Report

The Dollar Business Bureau

India looks set to overtake the economies of France and Britain in 2018 to become the fifth largest economy in the world in dollar terms, according to a report by one of the leading economics consultancies in the UK.

The World Economic League Table 2018 by Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) consultancy painted a positive view of the world’s economy, supported by cheap prices of energy and technology.

India’s rise is a part of the trend that will witness economies in Asia increasingly dominate the 10 biggest economies in the coming 15 years.

Douglas McWilliams, Deputy Chairman, Cebr said, “Despite temporary setbacks, India's economy has still caught up with that of France and the UK and in 2018 will have overtaken them both to become the world's fifth largest economy in dollar terms.”

McWilliams further said that the growth of India had been decelerated due to restrictions on high denomination banknotes and implementation of a new sales tax regime.

China is expected to leapfrog the US to become the world's largest economy in 2032, the report said.

“Because the impact of President Donald Trump on trade has been less severe than expected, the USA will retain its global crown a year longer than we anticipated in the last report,” it said.

Though France looks set to be ahead of the UK over the next couple of years, Cebr anticipated that the effects of Brexit on the UK’s economy will be lower than it feared, making it to again overtake France in 2020.

Due to lower oil prices and too much reliance on energy sector, Russia was vulnerable and would likely to fall to 17th position among the largest economies of the world by 2032, from the present 11th place.