Noida: Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal on Friday addressed the inaugural session of the three-day World Forum of Accountants (WOFA) at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida. Highlighting the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, Goyal proclaimed that India is confident of becoming the world’s third-largest economy in the coming two years.According to an Oct 2025 report by investment management firm Franklin Templeton, which cites International Monetary Fund and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development projections, India is on track to overtake Germany and become the third-largest economy by the end of this decade.Recalling former finance minister P Chidambaram’s 2014 budget speech, in which he predicted that India would climb the ladder to the third spot in 30 years, Goyal said decisive leadership under PriM Narendra Modi accelerated this trajectory.“Despite turbulence in global trade, India’s exports of goods, merchandise and services continue to grow in the current year,” he said.He added that India’s perception has changed on the global stage and the country has signed eight free trade agreements with developed nations in the last four years, facilitating trade with 37 countries across Europe, Australia, and the Middle East, many of which need skilled professionals.Citing the recent India-EU free trade agreement, described as the “mother of all deals” by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Goyal said India’s youth talent, hard work and ability to dream big are in high global demand. He also highlighted the importance of India’s 5.2 lakh chartered accountants .
