India can become 3rd largest economy by 2012: PwC

NEW DELHI: The US financial crisis may have expedited a shift in global economic power. According to a report by global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), India could become the world’s third largest economy by purchasing power parity (PPP), overtaking Japan in 2012.

This would be almost 20 years ahead of Goldman Sachs' projection of 2032 in its BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) report.

India is also expected to grow faster than China after 2020. China, which was projected to become the world’s largest economy by 2041, now looks set to achieve the distinction sometime around 2020, the PwC report said.

"While the exact date is open to doubt, it seems highly likely that, by 2030, China will clearly be the largest economy in the world on PPP," writes PwC head of macroeconomics John Hawksworth in the report.

Mukesh Ambani tops India's rich list

The head of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, is once again the wealthiest person in India. His net worth is put at 32 billion dollars, an increase of 54 per cent from nearly 21 billion dollars last year, according to the latest Forbes’ India Rich List. Trailing behind him are Lakshmi Mittal with a net worth of 30 billion dollars, up 46 per cent from 20.5 billion dollars, and Mukesh’s estranged brother, Anil, whose net worth of 17.5 billion dollars, 40 per cent, higher than before, put him in the third place. A rebounding stock market that gained two-thirds in the past year and an economy growing at 6% have boosted the net worth of India’s richest people, according to the Forbes’ India.