Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, predicts India could claim the third spot in global economy rankings by 2027-28 if it sustains its growth momentum. Despite facing challenges like the global financial crisis and the pandemic, India’s economy has grown consistently at around 8% in dollar terms over the past two decades. Panagariya emphasizes the need to transition labor from low-productivity agriculture to higher-productivity sectors. With 45% of the workforce in agriculture contributing only 15% to GDP, creating productive rural employment emerges as a critical challenge for India’s future growth.