As per a report issued by the UK’s Department of International Trade, India could grow into the world’s third-largest importer by 2050. With a 5.9% share of global imports by 2050, the nation will become the third-largest importer, followed by China and the United States. Presently, India holds the eighth position on the largest importing nations list with a 2.8% share. According to the Global Trade Outlook report, India's place on the list will jump to the fourth spot by 2030 with a 3.9% share. The report recommends that there will be a shift in import trends in fur since the share of imports of US and European Union is likely to dip, while Asia will witness its share of global imports surge. The report observed that the change is notably marked in the food, travel and digital services areas, where higher and increasingly wealthy populations in the Indo-Pacific region are likely to use more discretionary goods. It went on to say that the world’s centre of economic gravity is moving eastward for decades and creating trade patterns to move slowly. The report noted that between 2019 and 2050, 56% of global growth is likely to come from the Indo-Pacific, compared with a quarter from the EU and North America combined. An increase within the Indo-Pacific is expected to rebalance in time, with the contribution of South Asia (driven by India) surging. One of the main reasons why the economic gravity is moving eastward is because of China’s accelerated progress. By 2030, it is likely to become the world’s largest economy, having already displaced the US in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) years ago. China is likely to fully overtake the US as the world’s largest economy in 2030. The overtake is likely to happen around 2030. At that point, both countries will hold about 22% of global GDP. India is likely to jump to the third spot by 2050 in the ranking of the world’s largest economies with a 6.8% share of global GDP. Presently, India is the fifth-largest economy in the world with a 3.3% share. While the report predicted India and other developing economies to progress rapidly in future, many challenges need to be handled. The report recommended that rising economies need to shift from imitation to innovation, tackle income inequality, high levels of debt and overcome the devastation created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Image Source