Western countries are making sensible bet on India, ‘a rising great power’, says Martin Wolf

India is indeed likely to be a rising “great power” and its economy will have the size similar to that of the U.S. by 2050, according to noted economics commentator Martin Wolf who has also highlighted that Western leaders are making a sensible bet on the country.

India is indeed likely to be a rising "great power" and its economy will have the size similar to that of the U.S. by 2050, according to noted economics commentator Martin Wolf who has also highlighted that Western leaders are making a sensible bet on the country.

"I judge that India should be able to sustain growth of GDP per head at 5% a year, or so, up to 2050. With better policies, growth might even be a bit higher, though it could also be lower," Mr. Wolf said in a column written in the Financial Times.

He also said India is an obvious location for companies following a "China plus one" strategy and has the advantage over obvious competitors of a large home market.

India is the world's fifth largest economy and third largest one in terms of purchasing power. The United Nations has forecast the country's population to touch 1.67 billion by 2050 and currently it is 1.43 billion.

Mr. Wolf noted that the country's bank balance sheets have been repaired and in all, "the credit engine is once again in quite good shape". Noting that the country's population and economy are both forecast to grow rapidly over coming decades, offering a counterweight to China, Mr. Wolf said closer western relations with India make good sense.  

“Joe Biden’s warm embrace of the once-banned Narendra Modi, now its politically dominant Prime Minister, in Washington and Emmanuel Macron’s equally warm embrace of the Indian leader in Paris are aimed at forging a close relationship with a country expected to be a powerful counterweight to China.” 

“Is this a good bet for western powers? Yes. India is indeed likely to be a rising great power. Interests also align. But how far values are shared is a more open question,” he said.