India will be world’s third-largest economy by 2030: Ahluwalia

India will be world’s third-largest economy by 2030: AhluwaliaIndian economy will become the third-biggest economy in the world in less than two decades, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

During his speech at the convocation of the 125th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla on Thursday, Mr. Ahluwalia said that India will have the world's third-largest gross domestic product (GDP), after China and the U. S., by the year of 2030.

Delivering his speech, he said, "By the year 2030, India will have the third-largest GDP in the world. China will be No. 1, the US will be No. 2 and India will be third. The challenge of defence forces is to defend and protect the interests of the nation that will have the third-largest GDP in 17 years."

According to data released by the World Bank, India, with a GDP of $1.84 trillion, was at the 10th position on the list of the world's largest economy in 2012. With a GDP of $15.6 trillion, the U. S. was at the top position.

Mr. Ahluwalia stressed on the importance of protecting India's access to energy supplies, underlying that when the size of an economy increases, challenges also increase.

The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman also said that he expected the country's current account deficit (CAD) to remain between 2.5 per cent and 2.7 per cent of the GDP in the current financial year. Last year, it had touched its record high of $88.2 billion or 4.8 per cent of GDP.