"India Surpasses China's Growth Rate...": European Parliament Policy Expert

Pointing out the sustained growth of the Indian economy over the past decade, European Parliament think tank expert Angelos Delivorias said that India's GDP growth exceeding that of China reflects New Delhi's emergence as a formidable economic powerhouse in the global arena.

"India has surpassed the growth rate of China, and experts think that it will continue doing so, at least in the short term," remarked Delivorias, underlining India's unprecedented economic momentum.

India's GDP growth exceeded China's annually for the past few years, with India's growth averaging over 7.5 per cent in 2023, while China's is 5.2 per cent. India's GDP is also expected to reach 7 per cent by 2026, while China is expected to reach 4.6 per cent. The IMF projects China's 2024 growth at 4.6 per cent, declining towards 3.5 per cent in 2028.

Angelos, with a specialisation in external policies (including India), is a policy expert at European Parliamentary Research (EPRS), which provides comprehensive research and analytical support to the Members of the European Parliament.

With India's ambitious infrastructure projects and recent strides in space exploration, Delivorias highlighted the nation's comprehensive economic strategy.

"And apart from high GDP growth, India has done significant investments in national infrastructure projects to sustain that economic growth. It takes part in international infrastructure projects and last year we even see that it has a complete space programme. It landed on the moon. So it has a comprehensive economic strategy in that respect," the European Parliament policy expert said in an interview by EPRS on the rise of 'India, why it matters, and what this means for the EU'.

He also emphasised that India's strategic significance burgeoned in the Indo-Pacific region amid the changing geopolitical tides.

"India has increased its diplomatic importance as part of its strategy over the last decade," Delivorias noted, adding, "Its prominence grows in the Indo-Pacific region due to current geopolitical evolutions."

He also said that against the backdrop of China's Belt and Road Initiative and increasing assertiveness in global affairs, India's rise holds profound implications for the European Union and the wider international community.

"What I mean by that is that since the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative on behalf of China, since its more aggressive stance in the South China Sea, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we see that the Indo-Pacific as an area and this Southern Asia as a region grows in importance, both for us, the European Union, both for the West in general, and also for its regional partners," said Angelos.

He also drew parallels between India and China's demographic pyramid noting that the former's is younger than that of the latter's, which will lead to New Delhi's GDP continued growth in the ensuing years.

"From the economic perspective, the fact that India is the largest population on the planet, but also its population is younger, if we see the demographic pyramid of India, we see that it's younger than China's, implies that it has more people in the labour market and it has less expenditures in the health sectors or for pensions, which means it can keep growing its GDP in the next few years," he added.

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