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    BUSINESS & TRADE                                                   FEBRUARY 27, 2026       |  The Indian Eye 32

                                         The $26 Trillion Bet:

              Inside India’s 2047 Growth Gamble

              At the Global Economic Cooperation Summit, Piyush Goyal lays out an ambitious roadmap to
                             transform India into a $30–35 trillion developed economy by mid-century

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            clarity, logistics modernization and
                                                                                                                  sustained investment in human cap-
            New Delhi
                                                                                                                  ital. India’s demographic dividend —
                n Mumbai this week, Commerce                                                                      often celebrated — must be matched
               and Industry Minister Piyush                                                                       by job creation on an unprecedented
            IGoyal made a sweeping claim                                                                          scale.
            that captures both India’s economic                                                                       Goyal’s emphasis on “growth
            confidence and its political ambition.                                                                imperatives” acknowledges this ur-
            “There is no opportunity mankind has                                                                  gency. “Gone are the days when one
            ever provided which can come close                                                                    could live in isolation,” he said. “Now
            to the India opportunity from now                                                                     one has to secure markets, attract in-
            until 2047 and beyond,” he declared,                                                                  vestment, secure trade opportunities,
            promising that India will add an as-                                                                  engage with countries with the best
            tonishing $26 trillion to its economy                                                                 technologies, and open opportuni-
            over the next two decades.                                                                            ties for our youth.” The subtext is
                The setting — the Global Eco-                                                                     clear: economic nationalism without
            nomic Cooperation (GEC) 2026                                                                          global integration will not deliver a
            summit — was designed to amplify                                                                      $30 trillion economy.
            that message. Organised by the Fu-                                                                        The minister also sought to ad-
            ture Economic Cooperation Council                                                                     dress domestic anxieties. Referring
            (FECC) alongside the Ministry of Ex-                                                                  to the India-US Interim Trade Agree-
            ternal Affairs and the Government                                                                     ment, he reassured stakeholders that
            of Maharashtra, the forum brought                                                                     “our farmers and MSMEs are fully
            together delegations from the US,                                                                     protected.  Not  a  single  farmer  will
            UK, UAE, France and Singapore                                                                         have cause for concern.” In a country
            to  discuss  supply  chain  diversifica-                                                              where agricultural and small-busi-
            tion, artificial intelligence and infra-                                                              ness constituencies wield political
            structure capital. In other words, the                                                                influence,  this  assurance  is  crucial.
            building blocks of 21st century power.                                                                    India’s growth narrative, after all,
                Goyal’s core proposition is sim-  Union Minister Piyush Goyal interacts with dignitaries at the Global Economic Cooperation   must be politically sustainable.
            ple but audacious: between now                                                                            The India opportunity, as Goyal
            and 2047, when India marks 100               Summit in Mumbai on Wednesday (@PiyushGoyal X/ANI Photo)  frames it, is not merely about GDP
            years  of  independence, the  coun-                                                                   expansion. It is about repositioning
            try will add approximately $26 tril-  negotiates trade agreements “from a   trusted partner.          the country in global value chains,
            lion to its GDP. “A scale of growth   position of strength.” Over the past   In  a  post  on  X  after  a  fireside   forging strategic alliances, and lever-
            opportunity  that  is unparalleled  in   four years, the country has concluded   chat  at  the  summit,  Goyal  empha-  aging technology to leapfrog devel-
            history and unlikely to be replicat-  nine trade agreements, designed to   sized that trade agreements under   opment stages. It is about transform-
            ed anywhere else in the world,” he   secure market access for key sectors   Prime  Minister  Narendra  Modi’s   ing from a large emerging market
            said during his keynote address.  such as textiles, pharmaceuticals and   leadership “prioritise our nation-  into a developed economic power.
                The   numbers   are  stagger-  leather, while safeguarding sensitive   al interests,” and that negotiations   Whether the $26 trillion ad-
            ing. India is currently the world’s   domestic areas. “A free trade agree-  are undertaken from “a position of   dition  materializes  will  depend  on
            fourth-largest economy and is pro-  ment, for us, is an invitation to partner   strength.” He underscored India’s   execution as much as aspiration. In-
            jected to become the third largest   in India’s future,” he said — framing   emergence as “an attractive invest-  frastructure gaps must close, regu-
            by 2027–28. The government’s long-  FTAs not as concessions but as gate-  ment destination and a trusted global   latory friction must ease, and global
            term vision is to reach a $30–35 tril-  ways into a long-term growth story.  partner, offering stability, scale, and   headwinds — from protectionism to
            lion economy by 2047 — a developed    The language is telling. Gone   long-term opportunities.”       geopolitical conflict — must be navi-
            nation by any conventional metric.  are the defensive tones that once   This triad — stability, scale and   gated with agility.
            For investors seeking scale, demo-  characterized India’s trade policy.  sustained growth — forms the back-  But  in Mumbai,  the  message
            graphics and policy continuity, Goy- “We don’t engage with the world as a   bone of India’s pitch.    was unmistakable: India is no longer
            al’s pitch is clear: this is the last big   weak country,” Goyal asserted. “We   Yet the promise of adding $26   content to be described as a future
            growth story standing.            are negotiating for the future.” In a   trillion to the economy raises difficult   promise. It wants to define the future.
                But beneath the headline figure   world where supply chains are be-  questions. Sustaining high growth   If Goyal is right, the road to 2047
            lies a strategic recalibration of how   ing redrawn and economic blocs are   rates over two decades requires deep   will not just reshape India’s economy
            India engages the world.          hardening, India is positioning itself   structural  reforms:  labor  flexibility,   — it could alter the geometry of glob-
                Goyal stressed that India now   as both a manufacturing hub and a   judicial  efficiency,  land  acquisition   al growth itself.

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