India: the world's fifth largest economy boosts its growth and seeks Spanish businessmen and investors
The Madrid Chamber of Commerce has held a day dedicated to promoting the knowledge, by Spanish entrepreneurs and investors, of a booming economy such as India
India's growth figures are spectacular: the country is already the most populated on Earth, with more than 1,400 million inhabitants, and has already become the world's fifth largest economy, after growing at a rate of 7% in recent years.
- International Markets Conference: India
- Madrid Chamber of Commerce
- Analysis of the Indian economy
- Federation of Indian Export Organisations
With this growth and the good prospects for the future assured by the youth of its population (with an average age of less than 30 years), the increase in purchasing power and the training of its workers, India has become an attractive investment destination for Spanish businessmen.
International Markets Conference: India
In order to raise awareness of these possibilities and bring Spanish and Indian businessmen closer together, the Madrid Chamber of Commerce organised a conference on 24 September at the Palacio de Santoña in Madrid, which was attended by the Indian Ambassador to Spain, Dinesh K. Patnaik, and experts from this country such as the Indian Economic and Commercial Counsellor in Spain, Prithika Rani, and the Deputy Director of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Manish Sharma.
The Indian Ambassador to Spain, Dinesh K. Patnaik, acknowledged that ‘we are in a very appropriate moment, in which many things are happening in India, in many sectors. We have significant growth and our business with Spain is going to increase; all that is missing is the political impetus, which will come with the visit of President Sánchez and the King of Spain to our country’.
The ambassador recalled that there are more than 2,800 Spanish companies with a presence in India, and a few hundred Indian companies in Spain, especially in the Canary Islands, Malaga, Ceuta and Melilla, ‘although more and more are coming to the north, to Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia’.
Patnaik also explained that more and more Indian companies are moving from Catalonia to Madrid, ‘because Madrid is the economic centre of Spain, it has changed a lot and it is the place to be. We have to identify the sectors in which we can best collaborate with Spain, and for that we need the help of local businessmen’.
The Ambassador also highlighted some of the most booming sectors of the Indian economy, such as those related to video games, technology and pharmaceutical research.
Madrid Chamber of Commerce
On behalf of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Madrid, its president, Ángel Asensio, was present and gave some very relevant facts about India: ‘it is the most populated country in the world, with a rapidly growing domestic market: 1,400 million people, an average age of 28 years, and a very young and highly qualified population, especially in the new technologies sector’.
Asensio also highlighted India's role as a gateway to important markets such as those in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region, and underlined the stable growth of its economy, at 7% over the last few years.
As for the most important sectors in India, Asensio mentioned energy, infrastructure, technology and the environment: ‘in the first two, Spanish companies have a lot to offer. Spain and India have not yet developed the full potential of their commercial relations’.
The President of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce also valued the role played by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), which works to improve trade opportunities for Indian companies, and stressed their main qualities: reliability, competitiveness, qualification and productivity.
Finally, Asensio pointed out that ‘from the Chamber of Commerce we will help Spanish companies to internationalise, Indian companies to enter the Spanish market through Madrid, and Europe and Africa through Spain’.
Analysis of the Indian economy
Prithika Rani, India's Economic and Commercial Counsellor in Spain, gave a comprehensive presentation on the current outlook for the Indian economy, its growth in recent years and the prospects for the centenary of the country's independence, which will be celebrated in 2047.
The data provided by Rani in this presentation are striking: India has been the fastest growing economy among the world's major economies. Since 1947 it has increased its gross domestic product by a factor of 100 and its exports by a factor of 500. It is now the world's fifth largest economy, having risen six places since 2012.
In terms of population, India is the country with the second largest working population (522 million people): 65 % of the country's population is under 35 years of age. In addition, 25% of households are already upper-middle class, with a very young, increasingly educated and aspirational population.
Among the key sectors highlighted by the Minister for 2030 are renewable energies, textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and electronics.
Trade figures between Spain and India between 2023 and 2024 reached 8.25 billion dollars. Exports from India were 6.33 billion, while imports reached 1.92 billion. Spain is currently India's sixth largest trading partner in the European Union.
By 2047, the centenary of India's independence, the goal is to become the world's second largest economy, with a value of 32 trillion dollars; to multiply its current per capita income by 10 and its GDP by 15.
To achieve this, they are carrying out important reforms in the taxation of companies, including incentives for production and especially promoting sectors such as electronics, telecommunications and the pharmaceutical industry.
The technology sector is one of the jewels in the crown, with 5.4 million workers, more than 130,000 start-ups, with an average of 11 workers.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations
The last speaker was the Deputy Director of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, Manish Sharma, who highlighted the cordial relations between Spain and India and the need to deepen them in order to increase trade, both for Spanish companies in India and for Indian companies that want to set up in Spain.