Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted that India has reached its “takeoff point” toward becoming an economic superpower. Speaking at the NXT 2025 Conclave in New Delhi, he predicted that by 2050, India would emerge as one of the three global superpowers, alongside the United States and China.
Reflecting on his six-decade association with India, Wickremesinghe emphasized the country’s economic trajectory, calling it the driving force that could propel South Asia into a new era of prosperity. “I have been coming to India since 1963. It’s now that you have to see it. India has reached the take-off point to become an economic superpower,” he stated.
According to Wickremesinghe, India’s GDP, currently at approximately $3.5 trillion, is expected to soar to $30 trillion by 2050. He highlighted that this extraordinary expansion would reshape the region’s economy, fostering supply chains, manufacturing clusters, and economic corridors benefiting nations such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Call to Redefine South Asia’s Identity
Wickremesinghe urged South Asia to reassess its identity, starting with rejecting externally imposed terminologies. “The terminology is not ours. It comes from the West. You do not come across this term in any of the South Asian languages, nor in any Indian language. It was in 1949 that the U.S. Security and Defense Establishment, through one of its subcommittees, decided to call our area South Asia. We simply adopted it,” he remarked.
Comparing the region’s integration progress with ASEAN, he pointed out that South Asia has lagged behind. “Unlike ASEAN, which built its own successful integration and became part of the Asia-Pacific, South Asia has made very slow progress. Our heads of government haven’t met since 2014. Yet, we are bound by strong commonalities—languages, culture, and civilizational ties,” he added.
Wickremesinghe envisioned an expanded “Greater South Asia” extending beyond SAARC’s current boundaries, incorporating the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Indian Peninsula, the Himalayas, Afghanistan, and the Indian Ocean islands. He also stressed the need for stronger economic ties linking the region with Southeast Asia, the Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean.
India’s Economic Surge and Regional Trade Dynamics
Wickremesinghe predicted that South India alone would develop into a $6 trillion economy by 2050, naturally fostering economic corridors connecting Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Southeast Asia into an India-centric supply chain. He also pointed out that while China’s trade with ASEAN is expected to triple, India’s trade could grow nine-fold, potentially bringing ASEAN closer to India than China over time.
However, he warned against protectionist trade policies in the region, stating that “the vestiges of Nehruvian socialism” still persist in South Asia’s economic strategies.
