India becomes fastest growing economy post Covid pandemic, leaves behind US, China

New Delhi: Harvard University professor Jason Furman has described India as the fastest growing economy in the world. He backed his claim through data. According to him, after the Coronavirus pandemic, India has left behind economic superpowers like America, China and Russia.

Jason shared a graph on 'X' which shows India's economic performance, compared to US, China and Europe and Russia. He wrote in his post about how the world's major economies are performing now compared to before the Coronavirus pandemic. He posted a graph that compares GDP as a percentage of pre-pandemic trends for the US, Euro area, China, Russia and India from the third quarter of 2019 to 2025.

According to this graph, India's GDP is projected to rise and reach +5% by mid-2025 and emerge as the only major economy to grow over the long term.

According to the professor, all 5 economies went into negative territory in 2020. The Euro zone experienced the steepest declines, up to 25%, followed by China at 10%, the US at 5%, India at 5% and Russia at nearly 8%. However, their recoveries since then have varied considerably.

The US bounced back quickly, supported by aggressive fiscal interventions such as the American Rescue Plan.Furman previously credited these measures with helping the US grow by approximately +2% above trend by 2025. Yet, even this performance pales in comparison to India's extraordinary progress.

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From its 2020 lows, India was projected to climb above pre-Covid trendlines by 2022, reach +3% in 2024 and reach +5% by the third quarter of 2025. Furman stressed that this is not a one-time surge, but the result of structural strength.

According to professor Furman, India's policies boosted domestic consumption and investment amid global challenges. He said that digital infrastructure, investment reforms and a stable macroeconomic environment were the factors driving the country's growth. He compared it to the challenges faced by other major economies of the world.

He made the following observations post his study:

1. China's recovery remains slow due to prolonged zero-COVID measures and a real estate crisis, leaving its growth rate hovering at -5% by 2025.

2. Russia is stuck around -8%, hit by sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.

3. The euro area, still around -3%, continues to face inflation and geopolitical uncertainty

4. Even in the US, Furman identified sustainability risks: 92% of growth in the first half of 2025 will come from AI-driven data center investment, raising concerns about expansion

Major international rating agencies have also echoed Furman's optimism. ICRA expects India's GDP growth to remain strong at 7% in Q2FY26, from 7.8% in Q1FY26, and GVA is estimated at 7.1%. The agency said the slowdown in services and agriculture will be offset by industrial growth reaching a five-quarter high of 7.8%.

Moody's Ratings also reiterated India's leading position in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Greater China). It forecasts GDP growth of 7% in 2025 and 6.4% in 2026, supported by strong domestic demand despite global uncertainty.In the Asia-Pacific region, the agency expects growth to remain around 3.4% in 2026, with India remaining the clear outperformer.

Economists are citing India's progress as a model for other developing economies. IMF estimates show that strong digital infrastructure, growing manufacturing supported by production-linked incentives, a youth workforce and stable service exports have helped maintain 7-8% annual growth.