Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 28 (HBTV): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday questioned India’s rise to becoming the world’s fourth-largest economy, raising concerns over persistent unemployment, declining foreign investment, and widespread poverty.

Addressing reporters, Raut challenged the government's narrative, pointing out the disconnect between economic rankings and ground realities.

‘In a country where even today, Prime Minister Modi has to provide free food grains to 85 crore poor people, where unemployment is at its highest, and foreign investment has stopped coming in, on what basis are you claiming that we have become the world's fourth-largest economy?’ said Sanjay Raut.

Raut’s remarks come days after the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting, where NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam announced that India had overtaken Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world.

‘We are the fourth-largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy. This is not my data; this is the data from the IMF. India today is larger than Japan. It’s only the United States, China, and Germany which are larger, and if we stick to what is being planned, what is being thought through, it’s a matter of another two to three years; we would become the third-largest economy,’ Subrahmanyam said.

The International Monetary Fund’s data reportedly confirms that India’s GDP has reached the USD 4 trillion mark, positioning it just behind the top three global economies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public rally in Gandhinagar, where he reflected on the country’s economic progress. He stated that while India’s rise to the fourth-largest economy is a moment of national pride, it brings with it greater responsibility.

The Prime Minister noted that surpassing the United Kingdom — a former colonial ruler — to become the fifth-largest economy was a proud moment for Indian youth, and now the push is to climb further.

He reiterated that the government’s long-term objective remains unchanged: to transform India into a ‘Viksit nation’ by 2047, the centenary of independence, with no compromise on that vision. (ANI)