'India will be second largest economy'

India will be the second largest economy in the world by the mid-century, according to the country's High Commissioner to the UK, Kamalesh Sharma.

Sharma also spoke about the rapid strides the country was making in varied fields and said "by mid-century, India will be the second largest economy in the world."

According to economists, for over a century the US has been the largest economy in the world. Major shifts have, however, taken place in the last two decades and during the last 30 years the weight of the world economy has shifted from the US and the rich countries of Europe to China and India.

Of late, economists have been proclaiming the emergence of India and China as economic superpowers in not-too-distant future. The World bank says India will become the third largest economy after China and the US by 2025.

World Bank Managing Director Graeme Wheeler, who was in India recently, noted the country's tremendous progress in recent years and emphasised the need for sustaining the growth in high-value sectors along with strides in the fields of health care and education.

Lauding achievements of NRIs here, Sharma said "people of Indian origin are doing extremely well and now advancement at home mirrors the advancement made outside."

Noting that there is no relationship in the world like the one between India and Britain, the High Commissioner said "the NRIs have shown that they are prepared to live by the standard of excellence in developed countries."

In the UK, Sharma said the Indian community is generating wealth three times the national average. "The number of Indian acquisition which was just about 30 to 40 about five years ago has now crossed over 500" and "India is the second largest investor in the UK after the USA."

He said the number of Indian companies listed in the London Stock Exchange is more than the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange put together.