Indian economy projected to reach $5 trillion in FY29: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

India is on track to surpass the $5-trillion GDP milestone in FY29, as projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (August 4, 2026), adding that the government has adopted a comprehensive growth strategy to achieve this goal.

Citing the IMF’s April 2026 World Economic Outlook database, she said India’s GDP at current prices is estimated to reach roughly $5.1 trillion by 2028-29 in her written response.

The government’s broad-based strategy focuses on boosting farm productivity, strengthening manufacturing, supporting MSMEs, expanding infrastructure, improving logistics and the ease of doing business, streamlining taxation through income tax and GST reforms, promoting innovation and digitalisation, enhancing human capital, and ensuring energy security.

This approach is reinforced by sustained public capital expenditure, FDI liberalisation, export promotion, and prudent fiscal management aimed at maintaining macroeconomic stability and price control.

She also highlighted efforts to deepen trade resilience by widening India’s network of Free Trade Agreements and Comprehensive Economic Partnership/Cooperation Agreements.

To advance manufacturing, initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive scheme, Make in India, the National Logistics Policy, the National Single Window System and PM GatiShakti are designed to raise domestic output, attract investment, generate jobs and enhance competitiveness.

Targeted steps to strengthen MSMEs include expanded credit guarantees under the Emergency Credit Guarantee Scheme, revised classification norms, bolstering the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), simplified Udyam Registration, broader access to the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and support via the PM Vishwakarma Scheme.

The services sector is being supported through Digital Public Infrastructure, promotion of Global Capability Centres, Medical Value Travel and the Orange Economy, expansion of AI and digital ecosystems, and focused skill development initiatives.

The Union Budget 2026-27 introduced measures to unlock services growth, including a National Institute of Hospitality, Regional Medical Hubs, expansion of Allied Health Professional institutions, AVGC Content Creator Labs, and backing for university townships.

In agriculture, priorities include irrigation investment, technology adoption, digital farming, crop diversification, post-harvest infrastructure and improved market access to lift productivity.

Recent budgets have also prioritised sectors such as semiconductors, electronics, biopharmaceuticals, rare earths, chemicals, capital goods, clean energy and advanced manufacturing as engines of growth.

These initiatives are complemented by the PM-SETU scheme, aimed at upgrading ITIs and building industry-aligned skills to create a future-ready workforce.

Together, these measures are expected to bolster India’s medium-term growth outlook and advance its long-term vision of becoming a developed nation, or Viksit Bharat, by 2047.

Responding to a separate query, Sitharaman said banks filed 2,15,709 cases under the SARFAESI Act in FY25 involving ₹1,03,180 crore.

Of this amount, ₹32,466 crore has been recovered, she added.