FILE PHOTO: A view of a slum is seen along a seashore in Mumbai, India, November 28, 2019. Picture taken November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Prashant Waydande/File Photo
MUMBAI: India is set to become a US$30 trillion (RM136.6 trillion) economy by 2050 – a nearly 10-fold jump from its current size – driven by rising consumption and social and economic reforms, according to Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani.
The nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) may start expanding by US$1 trillion (RM4.6 trillion) every 12 to 18 months within the next decade, increasing its attraction as an investment destination, the billionaire said at a conference in Mumbai.
India’s share of global GDP is likely to exceed 20% by 2050, he said.
The coal-to-ports billionaire reaffirmed his group’s commitment to invest US$70bil (RM319bil) in a clean energy value chain.
Economic growth will likely mean India’s energy consumption will rise by 400% by 2050, and the country will undertake “an unparalleled” energy transition to cater for this demand, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has set targets to expand the nation’s solar and wind power capacity, as well as make the country an global hub for green hydrogen.
The world’s third-biggest producer of greenhouse gases has set a goal to become a net-zero emitter by 2070, and business tycoons including Adani and his rival Mukesh Ambani are spearheading that effort, committing billions of dollars in green energy.
“Cooling the planet down will be one of the most profitable businesses, and the largest of job creators over the next several decades,” Adani said, adding that the opportunity may turn India into a net exporter of green energy by 2050.
Adani said India is expected to maintain its rapid pace of creating unicorns, startups that have more than a billion dollars in market value. In 2021, India added a unicorn every nine days, he said. — Bloomberg
