NEW YORK – As India’s investment climate seems to be improving, the moment might not be far away for the country to emerge as the world’s third economy, says Jim O’Neill who is better known for coining the acronym BRIC.
“It is probably too early to say with certainty that India will soon take its place as the world’s third largest economy, behind China and the United States. But, given that India’s investment climate seems to be improving, that moment might not be too far away,” he said in a recent commentary posted on Project Syndicate website.
“By 2017, India could surpass Italy and Brazil to become the world’s seventh largest economy; by 2020, there is a reasonable chance that it will overtake France and the United Kingdom to become the fifth largest,” O’Neill, who was recently in India, said.
Way back in 2001, O’Neill, had coined the acronym BRIC — the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China — while mentioning about growth prospects in large emerging markets.
O’Neill, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, is now a Honorary Professor of Economics at Manchester University and Chairman of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, among other roles.
