India has become 4th largest economy, ahead of Japan: EAC-PM member Shamika Ravi

New Delhi, Jun 3 (PTI) Joining the debate on India’s economy ranking, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Shamika Ravi on Monday said India is the fourth largest economy in the world, notwithstanding the fact that a large informal component of the country’s GDP is not measured.

Niti Aayog member Arvind Virmani on May 26 had told PTI that India is set to become the fourth largest economy in the world by the end of 2025, an assertion which came days after NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam claimed India has already overtaken Japan to reach that spot.

"Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world - despite a very significant informal component that is not measured in the GDP," Ravi said in a social media post on X.

Asked about the position of the Indian economy in dollar terms, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on May 30 had said the IMF had given a dollar GDP projection of USD 3.9 trillion for FY25, which matched with the Finance Ministry's internal estimates.

"What Niti Aayog CEO said was clarified by Niti Aayog whole time member and former CEA Arvind Virmani that it is the story for 2025-26," he said in response to the claim made by Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam that India has already overtaken Japan.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released in April, had said that India is expected to be the fourth largest economy in the world with a GDP of USD 4.19 trillion in 2025, ahead of Japan.

"India is in the process of becoming the fourth largest economy, and I am personally confident that will happen by the end of 2025 because we need (data) of all 12 months of GDP to say that to assert that. So to say till then, it remains a forecast,” Virmani had said.

Citing IMF data, Subrahmanyam, last month on May 30, had said that the size of the Indian economy today is larger than Japan's.

"We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy as I speak," the Niti Aayog CEO had said.

"It is only the US, China and 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 had said.

India's nominal GDP for 2025 (FY26) is expected to be USD 4.187 trillion, marginally more than the likely GDP of Japan, which is estimated at USD 4.186 trillion, the IMF had said.

According to IMF data, India's per capita income has doubled from USD 1,438 in 2013-14 to USD 2,880 in 2025. PTI BKS DR