26-05-2025
Feels like we're the 4th-biggest economy?
Just in Jest
We just got the memo: India has become the 4th-largest economy in the world, with a projected GDP of $4.187 bn for FY26. We've also been told that India has surpassed Japan in the GDP stakes. But the way the thermometer says 30° C and yet it 'feels like' 48° C, why does it not feel like we're the 4th-biggest economy in the world? Look out of the window, and it doesn't seem viksit-y just yet.
India could be the opposite of a 'Potemkin Village' - you know, a false facade named after the Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin, who allegedly erected fake villages during Empress Catherine the Great's visit to Crimea to make the region look more prosperous than it really was. In India's case, things look worse than they really may be. Potholes still resemble gurgly swirlpools after a good rain. Public hygiene and civic sense are still Fourth World-ish in certain places. Government offices still greet you with the timeless charm of a printer that hasn't worked since 1991. There's wealth, no doubt - just not the kind that trickles down but rather evaporates into gated communities. In real rich countries, even the wealthy step outdoors for a view or to mingle. Here, bubbles help. But let's make the best of what we have: the official stamp that after the US, China and Germany, India is in the posh line. So what if it doesn't feel like it?
