This post is misleading people by comparing India’s 2014 GDP (PPP) rank with 2018 GDP (Nominal) rank

A post is being widely shared on Facebook with a claim that the Indian economy was 3^rd largest in the world in 2014 but it became 7^th largest in the world in 2019. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.

The archived version of the post can be found here.

Claim: Under Manmohan Singh, the Indian economy was 3rd largest in the world in 2014 but, under Modi, the Indian economy became 7th largest in the world in 2019.
Fact: The Indian economy was the third largest economy (in terms of PPP) in 2014 and retains the same position in 2019 (according to 2018 WB data). In the post, the 2014 economy rank based on GDP (PPP) is being compared to the 2018 economy rank which is based on GDP (nominal value). Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.

When searched for the news on India becoming 3^rd largest economy in the world in 2014, a news article by ‘The Economic Times’ on this issue was found in the search results. According to that article, the Indian economy surpassed Japan to become the 3^rd largest economy in the world in terms of PPP (Purchasing Power Parity). This rank was based on the survey conducted by World Bank’s International Comparison Program (ICP) (2011), the previous survey was conducted in 2005.

Also, when searched for the news on India becoming 7^th largest economy in 2019, it was found in an article published by ‘The Times of India’ in 2019 that India slipped to 7^th position, according to 2018 Global GDP rankings released by the World Bank. But these rankings are based on GDP (nominal) data, not GDP (PPP) data. The difference between the GDP (nominal) and the GDP (PPP) can be read here.

The 2018 rank of the Indian economy based on the GDP (PPP) data and this data can be found on the World Bank website. The Indian economy still retains the third largest economy (GDP-PPP) position in 2018 (data for 2019 not available).

The ranking of the India Economy in the last 15 years, based on the data [GDP (current US$) and GDP-PPP (current international $)] available on the World Bank website, can found in the table below:

The World Bank data shows that India’s GDP is at $2.7 trillion (in 2018). In the recent Union budget speech (2019-20), the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs said, “Indian economy will become a 3 trillion-dollar economy in the current year and is on the path of achieving the Prime Minister’s vision of a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2024-25.” This year Economic Survey also mentions the government’s target of achieving 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2025-25 and calls for a sustained growth rate of 8 per cent to achieve that target.