Thaindian News

Hanoi, May 4 (IANS) India and six other major economies in Asia will drive the region’s growth, which, according to current projections, could account for more than half of the global gross domestic product by 2050, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released Wednesday.

“Asia’s rise will be led by the Peoples Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand,” said the multilateral financial institution.

According to the report, India would grow to be a $40.4 trillion economy from the current $1.4 trillion in 2010.

India would be second in the region to China, which would by 2050 become a $62.9 trillion. China’s economy was $5.7 trillion in 2010.

Also, India’s share in the global gross domestic product would be 14 percent, while China’s would be much larger at 22 percent, according to the ADB report.

India, however, would witness a faster rate of economic growth in the next 40 years compared to China as it still has a young population which will grow into a one billion strong work force by 2050, 25 percent more than China.

The average per capita income of these seven countries would be $45,800, 25 percent higher than the global average of $36,600, the report said.

These seven economies, which in 2010 had a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $14.2 trillion, or 87 percent of all Asian countries, will see their share rise further to 90 percent by 2050.

The ADB, however, cautioned against taking growth for granted.

“The impression has been created that the ascendancy of Asia is somehow an immutable fact and the only question is merely when China and India will become the largest and second largest global economies, as if the countries are on autopilot, gliding smoothly to their rightful destiny,” said the report.

“Its leaders must be aware that future prosperity will need to be earned, in the same way that developed economies today earned their success over the past 40 years.”

The report also said that Asian economies like China and India must shift to focussing on developing entrepreneurship and innovation to create breakthroughs in science and technology and joining the ranks of Japan, Republic of Korea and other high-income economies.

It also highlighted some of the challenges that countries like India face such as rising inequities and disparities within countries which “could alter the political and social fabric of the region.”