India's economic landscape is buzzing with positive developments and international recognition. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during his visit to India, stated that India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy by 2028, with the UK ideally positioned to be a partner in this journey. This sentiment was echoed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who lauded India as a "key growth engine of the world economy" amidst evolving global growth patterns.
Strengthening India-UK Ties
The visit of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer saw significant progress in India-UK economic cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the strong foundation for trade and economic collaboration, with a shared goal to double bilateral trade to $112 billion by 2030 from the current $56 billion. A new £350 million defense deal was signed for the purchase of missiles for the Indian Army, along with an agreement to advance collaboration on electric-powered engines for naval ships, valued at an initial £250 million. Furthermore, 64 Indian companies have committed to investing £1.3 billion (₹15,430 crore) in the UK, indicating growing business confidence. The leaders also discussed deepening cooperation in technology, life sciences, renewable energy, and education, with two UK universities receiving approval to open campuses in India.
Digital Economy and Infrastructure Push
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, reiterated the government's ambition to achieve a USD 5 trillion economy by 2027 and a developed nation status by 2047. He highlighted the impressive growth of India's automobile industry, which has surpassed Japan to become the third-largest globally, valued at ₹22 lakh crore. Gadkari also pointed to infrastructure improvements leading to a reduction in average logistics costs and emphasized the potential of alternative fuels to cut crude oil imports.
India's digital economy has been a significant growth driver, tripling to $370 billion in 2023 from $108 billion a decade ago, and is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030. Prime Minister Modi noted India accounts for half of the world's real-time digital transactions, with over 20 billion UPI transactions occurring monthly. However, a GSMA report cautions that innovation and adoption gaps need to be addressed to maintain this momentum and achieve digital sovereignty goals by 2047.
Market Performance and Corporate News
Indian equity markets demonstrated resilience, closing higher on October 9th. The Sensex rose by 398.44 points (0.49%) to 82,172.10, and the Nifty gained 135.65 points (0.54%) to settle at 25,181.80. Several companies were in focus: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a net profit of Rs 12,075 crore for Q2FY26 and announced plans to build a 1 GW AI data center in India. Tata Motors successfully implemented its demerger plan, separating its commercial vehicle business into a new entity. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey addressed concerns regarding foreign fund outflows, stating they are not worrying in the long term, given the upward trend in FPI assets and India's strong economic narrative.