India to become bigger economy than UK by 2017

India will overtake the UK by 2017 to become the largest economy in the Commonwealth.

Britain, which has reclaimed its place as the world’s sixth largest economy from Brazil, will however, be larger than France by 2022, a leading forecaster has predicted.

According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the UK, however, will not be able to avoid a relative decline over the next decade, falling to eighth behind India, Brazil, and Russia, but avoiding the dramatic plunge expected for France and Italy.

Brazil overtook the UK over the past year, but has slipped to seventh in CEBR’s World Economic League Table rankings due to the weakness of its currency, the Telegraph reports.

The South American giant is expected to overtake the UK again in 2014.

The next decade will see the BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, cement their economic dominance, as Europe suffers a gradual decline in standing, the report added.

Only the US and Japan, the world’s third largest economy, will hold on to their places.

Germany will decline two slots from fourth to sixth, but France and Italy will be the biggest losers. France is expected to fall from fifth to ninth, and Italy from eighth to 13th, the report said.

According to the report, Brazil will be fifth and Russia will have climbed two places to seventh.

China will remain the world’s second biggest economy, but will have closed the gap on the US.