Nouriel Roubini expects India’s growth to outpace China's within 10 years

According to noted economist Nouriel Roubini, India's economy may expand more than China's in the next 10 years if India lifts curbs on foreign investment in retail and boosts spending on roads and bridges.

''I'm very optimistic about India's future growth'' because the economy is driven by domestic demand while China relies more on exports, the New York University professor and chairman of Roubini Global Economics who predicted the global financial crisis said in New Delhi yesterday. ''The challenge for India will be to sustain 9 percent growth and at the same time keep inflation under control.''

Roubini joins Morgan Stanley in projecting a faster pace of growth for India than China. Prime minister Manmohan Singh's government has plans to double spending on roads, ports and power plants to $1 trillion in the five years to 2017 in a bid to improve the country's infrastructure which ranks below  Sri Lanka and war –ravaged Ivory Coast.

India's gross domestic product was up at 8.9 per cent for a second successive quarter in July to September according to the government which came out with the figures this week.

''In the next few years, it is possible that the growth of India might surpass that of China, with India maintaining a close to double-digit growth, while China might slow down to eight per cent or so,'' said Roubini, in his Lakshmipat Singhania Centennial Lecture.

According to Roubini countries like India, Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey, with their increasing reliance on domestic markets, held a ''distinct edge'' over China which is mainly dependent on trade and a weak currency to spur its growth story.