Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 25 (ANI): Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday lashed out at state Finance Minister OP Choudhary on his statement on India's improvement as an economy under the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing mediapersons here, Baghel said, 'When we went to the first meeting of Niti Aayog, the Prime Minister had said that we will create a 5 trillion economy. You are seeing whether it has been achieved or not... I want to ask OP Choudhary that if development has taken place very fast, then why are 80 crore people happy with 5 kg of grain, why are they dependent on it?'

This comes after OP Choudhary had mocked the Congress government and stated that India's economy remained at the same spot for 10 years, further stating that the country would become the third-largest economy within Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure.

'Under the Congress government from 2004 to 2014, India's economy was in the 10th spot and remained there for 10 years... As he committed, we will become the third-largest economy within PM Narendra Modi's third tenure...'

NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) BRV Subhramanyam stated that India had overtaken Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy, citing data by the International Monetary Fund.

Addressing a press conference of the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting on 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047', Subrahmanyam stated that India's economy has reached the USD 4 trillion mark.

'We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy as I speak, and this is not my data. This is IMF data. India today is larger than Japan. It's only the United States, China, and Germany which are larger, and if we stick to, you know, what is being planned, what is being thought through, it's a matter of another 2, 2.5 to 3 years; we would become the third largest economy,' said Subrahmanyam.

'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 2, 2.5 to 3 years; we would become the third largest economy,' Subrahmanyam added.

According to the IMF's April edition of the World Economic Outlook report, the nominal GDP for fiscal 2026 is expected to reach around USD 4,187.017 billion. This is marginally more than the likely GDP of Japan, which is estimated at USD 4,186.431 billion.

India was the fifth largest economy in the world till 2024.The global financial body projects that India will remain the fastest-growing major economy over the next two years. (ANI)