The world's largest economies

The Indian economy is the 12th largest in the world. That is, India's gross domestic product stands at $1.171 trillion.

However, in terms of purchasing power parity, India is the world's fourth largest economy. Its GDP in purchasing power parity terms is at $3.092 trillion.

These are the year 2007 figures, recently released by the World Bank.

By definition, purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic theory that estimates the amount of adjustment needed on the exchange rate between countries in order for the exchange to be equivalent to each currency's purchasing power.

India is the one of the world's fastest growing economies, yet its annual per capita income remains quite low at $950, or about Rs 40,000. That puts India in the 160th spot.

Incidentally, World Bank figures show that the world's GDP is at $54.347 trillion. India accounts for just over 2 per cent of global GDP.