"Matter of honour for all Indians": BJP's Smriti Irani as India overtakes Japan to become 4th largest economy

Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 26 : Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after India officially became the world's fourth-largest economy, overtaking Japan, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani said on Monday that it is a "matter of honour for all Indians".
"When PM Modi took an oath on 26th May 11 years ago, he promised to strengthen the economy. Today, India has become the fourth-largest economy in the world. It is a matter of honour for all Indians, but our resolve is that we will have to reach the top," Irani told ANI here.
On May 25, NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) BVR Subrahmanyam said that India has overtaken Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy, citing data by the International Monetary Fund.
Addressing a press conference of the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting on 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047', Subrahmanyam stated that India's economy has reached the USD 4 trillion mark.
"We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy as I speak, and this is not my data. This is IMF data. India today is larger than Japan. It's only the United States, China, and Germany which are larger, and if we stick to, you know, what is being planned, what is being thought through, it's a matter of another 2, 2.5 to 3 years; we would become the third largest economy," said Subrahmanyam.
According to the IMF's April edition of the World Economic Outlook report, the nominal GDP for fiscal 2026 is expected to reach around USD 4,187.017 billion. This is marginally more than the likely GDP of Japan, which is estimated at USD 4,186.431 billion. India was the fifth largest economy in the world till 2024.
The global financial body projects that India will remain the fastest-growing major economy over the next two years. India's economy is expected to grow by 6.2 per cent in 2025 and 6.3 per cent in 2026, maintaining a solid lead over global and regional peers, the April 2025 edition of the IMF's World Economic Outlook added.
In contrast, the IMF projects global economic growth to be much lower, at 2.8 per cent in 2025 and 3.0 per cent in 2026, highlighting India's exceptional outperformance.
NITI Aayog CEO further stated that India is at a turning point and at a take-off stage where it can grow very, very rapidly.
Sharing more information on the matters discussed during the Governing Council Meeting, NITI Aayog's CEO said that the Centre and States discussed the strategies for manufacturing services, rural, non-farm, urban, informal, and the green economy sectors.
"We had sub-themes for manufacturing services, rural, non-farm, urban, informal, and the green economy, as well as the circular economy. These were the broad themes that were there," Subrahmanyam said, explaining the other details of the meeting that took place in New Delhi on Saturday.